Nehemiah 2
JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)
Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), second edition
1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
1ΚΑΙ ἐγένετο ἐν μηνὶ Νισὰν ἔτους εἰκοστοῦ Ἀρθασασθὰ βασιλεῖ καὶ ἦν ὁ οἶνος ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἔλαβον τὸν οἶνον καὶ ἔδωκα τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἕτερος ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ.
2And the king said unto me: 'Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.' Then I was very sore afraid.
2καὶ εἶπέ μοι ὁ βασιλεύς· διατί τὸ πρόσωπόν σου πονηρὸν καὶ οὐκ εἶ μετριάζων; καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, εἰ μὴ πονηρία καρδίας. καὶ ἐφοβήθην πολὺ σφόδρα,
3And I said unto the king: 'Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?'
3καὶ εἶπα τῷ βασιλεῖ· ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ζήτω· διατί οὐ μὴ γένηται πονηρὸν τὸ πρόσωπόν μου, διότι ἡ πόλις, οἶκος μνημείων πατέρων μου, ἠρημώθη καὶ αἱ πύλαι αὐτῆς κατεβρώθησαν ἐν πυρί;
4Then the king said unto me: 'For what dost thou make request?' So I prayed to the God of heaven.
4καὶ εἶπέ μοι ὁ βασιλεύς· περὶ τίνος τοῦτο σὺ ζητεῖς; καὶ προσηυξάμην πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ
5And I said unto the king: 'If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.'
5καὶ εἶπα τῷ βασιλεῖ· εἰ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἀγαθόν, καὶ εἰ ἀγαθυνθήσεται ὁ παῖς σου ἐνώπιόν σου ὥστε πέμψαι αὐτὸν ἐν Ἰούδᾳ εἰς πόλιν μνημείων πατέρων μου, καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσω αὐτήν.
6And the king said unto me, the queen also sitting by him: 'For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?' So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
6καὶ εἶπέ μοι ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ἡ παλλακὴ ἡ καθημένη ἐχόμενα αὐτοῦ· ἕως πότε ἔσται ἡ πορεία σου καὶ πότε ἐπιστρέψεις; καὶ ἠγαθύνθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἀπέστειλέ με, καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῷ ὅρον,
7Moreover I said unto the king: 'If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through till I come unto Judah;
7καὶ εἶπα τῷ βασιλεῖ· εἰ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἀγαθόν, δότω μοι ἐπιστολὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἐπάρχους πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ ὥστε παραγαγεῖν με, ἕως ἔλθω ἐπὶ Ἰούδαν,
8and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's park, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.' And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
8καὶ ἐπιστολὴν ἐπὶ Ἀσὰφ φύλακα τοῦ παραδείσου, ὅς ἐστι τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὥστε δοῦναί μοι ξύλα στεγάσαι τὰς πύλας καὶ εἰς τὸ τεῖχος τῆς πόλεως καὶ εἰς οἶκον, ὃν εἰσελεύσομαι εἰς αὐτόν. καὶ ἔδωκέ μοι ὁ βασιλεὺς ὡς χεὶρ Θεοῦ ἡ ἀγαθή.
9Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.
9καὶ ἦλθον πρὸς τοὺς ἐπάρχους πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς τὰς ἐπιστολὰς τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἀπέστειλε μετ' ἐμοῦ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀρχηγοὺς δυνάμεως καὶ ἱππεῖς.
10And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
10καὶ ἤκουσε Σαναβαλλὰτ ὁ Ἀρωνὶ καὶ Τωβία ὁ δοῦλος Ἀμμωνί, καὶ πονηρὸν αὐτοῖς ἐγένετο ὅτι ἥκει ὁ ἄνθρωπος ζητῆσαι ἀγαθὸν τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ.
11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
11Καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἤμην ἐκεῖ ἡμέρας τρεῖς.
12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem; neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
12καὶ ἀνέστην νυκτὸς ἐγὼ καὶ ἄνδρες ὀλίγοι μετ' ἐμοῦ· καὶ οὐκ ἀπήγγειλα ἀνθρώπῳ τί ὁ Θεὸς δίδωσιν εἰς καρδίαν μου τοῦ ποιῆσαι μετὰ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ κτῆνος οὐκ ἔστι μετ' ἐμοῦ, εἰ μὴ τὸ κτῆνος, ᾧ ἐγὼ ἐπιβαίνω ἐπ' αὐτῷ.
13And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the dragon's well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
13καὶ ἐξῆλθον ἐν πύλῃ τοῦ Γωληλὰ καὶ πρὸς στόμα πηγῆς τῶν συκῶν καὶ εἰς πύλην τῆς κοπρίας καὶ ἤμην συντρίβων ἐν τῷ τείχει Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὃ αὐτοὶ καθαιροῦσι καὶ πύλαι αὐτῆς κατεβρώθησαν πυρί.
14Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool; but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
14καὶ παρῆλθον ἐπὶ πύλην τοῦ Ἀΐν καὶ εἰς κολυμβήθραν τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ οὐκ ἦν τόπος τῷ κτήνει παρελθεῖν ὑποκάτω μου.
15Then went I up in the night in the valley, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.
15καὶ ἤμην ἀναβαίνων ἐν τῷ τείχει χειμάρρου νυκτὸς καὶ ἤμην συντρίβων ἐν τῷ τείχει, καὶ ἤμην ἐν πύλῃ τῆς φάραγγος καὶ ἐπέστρεψα.
16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
16τότε οἱ φυλάσσοντες οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τί ἐπορεύθην καὶ τί ἐγὼ ποιῶ, καὶ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι καὶ τοῖς ἐντίμοις καὶ τοῖς στρατηγοῖς καὶ τοῖς καταλοίποις τοῖς ποιοῦσι τὰ ἔργα, ἕως τότε οὐκ ἀπήγγειλα.
17Then said I unto them: 'Ye see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire; come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.'
17καὶ εἶπα πρὸς αὐτούς· ὑμεῖς βλέπετε τὴν πονηρίαν ταύτην, ἐν ᾗ ἐσμεν ἐν αὐτῇ, πῶς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔρημος καὶ αἱ πύλαι αὐτῆς ἐδόθησαν πυρί· δεῦτε καὶ διοικοδομήσωμεν τὸ τεῖχος Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ οὐκ ἐσόμεθα ἔτι ὄνειδος.
18And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also of the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said: 'Let us rise up and build.' So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
18καὶ ἀπήγγειλα αὐτοῖς τὴν χεῖρα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἥ ἐστιν ἀγαθὴ ἐπ' ἐμέ, καὶ τοὺς λόγους τοῦ βασιλέως, οὓς εἶπέ μοι, καὶ εἶπα· ἀναστῶμεν καὶ οἰκοδομήσωμεν. καὶ ἐκραταιώθησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν.
19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said: 'What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?'
19καὶ ἤκουσε Σαναβαλλὰτ ὁ Ἀρωνὶ καὶ Τωβία ὁ δοῦλος ὁ Ἀμμωνὶ καὶ Γησὰμ ὁ Ἀραβὶ καὶ ἐξεγέλασαν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἦλθον ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ εἶπαν· τί τὸ ρῆμα τοῦτο, ὃ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε; ᾖ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ὑμεῖς ἀποστατεῖτε;
20Then answered I them, and said unto them: 'The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.'
20καὶ ἐπέστρεψα αὐτοῖς λόγον καὶ εἶπα αὐτοῖς· ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, αὐτὸς εὐοδώσει ἡμῖν, καὶ ἡμεῖς δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ καθαροί, καὶ οἰκοδομήσομεν· καὶ ὑμῖν οὐκ ἔστι μερὶς καὶ δικαιοσύνη καὶ μνημόσυνον ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ.
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