1 In the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Never had I been upset in his presence.
2 So the king said to me, “Why is your face troubled though you do not seem sick? This is nothing but a troubled heart.”Then I became very much afraid
3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should not my face be troubled when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 So the king said to me, “What are you requesting about this matter?”Immediately, I prayed to the God of heaven
5 and then said to the king, “If this pleases the king and if this might be good for your servant who is before you, then would you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs so that I may rebuild it?”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, said to me, “How long would your journey be? And when will you return?” Because it pleased the king to send me, I established a timetable for him.