Nehemiah 2:1-7

1And it came about in the month Nisan, 1in the twentieth year of King 2Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and 3I picked up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.

2So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? 4This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.

3And I said to the king, “5May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad 6when the city, the 7site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

4Then the king said to me, “8What would you request?” 9So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, I request that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

6Then the king said to me, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and 10I gave him a definite time.

7And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me 11for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I come to Judah,