Nehemiah:1
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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah .
And it came to pass in the month Chisleu ,
in the twentieth year ,
as I was in Shushan the palace ,
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That Hanani ,
one of my brethren ,
came ,
he and certain men of Judah ;
and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped ,
which were left of the captivity ,
and concerning Jerusalem .
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And they said unto me ,
The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach :
the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down ,
and the gates thereof are burned with fire .
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And it came to pass ,
when I heard these words ,
that I sat down and wept ,
and mourned certain days ,
and fasted ,
and prayed before the God of heaven ,
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And said ,
I plead to you ,
O LORD God of heaven ,
the great and terrible God ,
that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments :
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Let yours ear now be attentive ,
and yours eyes open ,
that you may hear the prayer of your servant ,
which I pray before you now ,
day and night ,
for the children of Israel your servants ,
and confess the sins of the children of Israel ,
which we have sinned against you :
both I and my father '
s house have sinned .
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We have dealt very corruptly against you ,
and have not kept the commandments ,
nor the statutes ,
nor the judgments ,
which you commandedst your servant Moses .
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Remember ,
I plead to you ,
the word that you commandedst your servant Moses ,
saying ,
If all of you transgress ,
I will scatter you abroad among the nations :
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But if all of you turn unto me ,
and keep my commandments ,
and do them ;
though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven ,
yet will I gather them from thence ,
and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there .
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Now these are your servants and your people ,
whom you have redeemed by your great power ,
and by your strong hand .
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O LORD ,
I plead to you ,
let now yours ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant ,
and to the prayer of your servants ,
who desire to fear your name :
and prosper ,
I pray you ,
your servant this day ,
and grant him mercy in the sight of this man .
For I was the king '
s cupbearer .