1 WYC Forsothe it was doon in the monethe Nysan, in the twentithe yeer of Artaxerses, kyng, and wyn was bifor hym, and Y reyside the wyn, and yaf to the kyng, and Y was as langwischynge bifor his face. BSB BSB: Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 WYC And the kyng seide to me, Whi is thi cheer sory, sithen Y se not thee sijk? This is not without cause; but `yuel, Y not what, is in thin herte. And Y dredde ful greetli; BSB BSB: so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
3 WYC and seide to the kyng, Kyng, lyue thou withouten ende; whi moreneth not my cheer? for the citee of the hows of the sepulcris of my fadir is desert, `ether forsakun, and the yatis therof ben brent with fier. BSB BSB: and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 WYC And the kyng seide to me, For what thing axist thou? And Y preiede God of heuene, BSB BSB: “What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven
5 WYC and seide to the kyng, If it semeth good to the kyng, and if it plesith thi seruauntis bifor thi face, Y biseche, that thou sende me in to Judee, to the citee of the sepulcre of my fadir, and Y schal bilde it. BSB BSB: and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
6 WYC And the kyng seide to me, and the queen sat bisidis him, `Til to what tyme schal thi weie be, and whanne schalt thou turne ayen? And Y pleside `bifor the cheer of the kyng, and he sente me, and Y ordeynede to hym a time; BSB BSB: Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time.
7 WYC and Y seide to `the kyng, If it semeth good to kyng, yyue he pistlis to me to the duykis of the cuntrey biyende the flood, that thei lede me ouer, til Y come in to Judee; BSB BSB: I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.
8 WYC `and a pistle to Asaph, kepere of the kyngis forest, that he yyue trees to me, that Y may hile the yatis of the tour of the hows, and of the wal of the citee, and the hows, into which Y schal entre. And `the kyng yaf to me, bi the good hond of my God with me. BSB BSB: And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.
9 WYC And Y cam to the duykis of the cuntrei biyende the flood, and Y yaf to hem the pistlis of the kyng. Sotheli the kyng `hadde sent with me the princes of knyytis, and horsemen. BSB BSB: Then I went to the governors west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
11 WYC And Y cam in to Jerusalem, and Y was there thre daies. BSB BSB: After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,
12 WYC And Y roos bi nyyt, Y and a fewe men with me, and Y schewide not to ony man, what thing God hadde youe in myn herte, that Y wolde do in Jerusalem; and no werk beest was with me, no but the beeste, `on which Y sat. BSB BSB: I set out at night with a few men. I did not tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with me was the one on which I was riding.
13 WYC And Y yede out bi the yate of the valei bi nyyt, and bifor the welle of dragoun, and to the yat of drit; and Y bihelde the wal of Jerusalem distried, and the yatis therof wastid bi fier. BSB BSB: So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14 WYC And Y passid to the yate of the welle, and to the watir cundit of the kyng, and no place was to the hors, `on which Y sat `for to passe; BSB BSB: Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;
15 WYC and Y stiede bi the stronde `in nyyt, and Y bihelde the wal, and Y turnede ayen, and cam to the yate of the valei, and Y yede ayen. BSB BSB: so I went up the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I headed back and reentered through the Valley Gate.
16 WYC Forsothe the magistratis wisten not, whidir Y hadde go, ethir what Y wolde do; but also Y hadde not schewid ony thing to the Jewis, and prestis, and to the best men, and magestratis, and to othere men that maden the werk, `til to that `place, that is, til to that tyme. BSB BSB: The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews or priests or nobles or officials or any other workers.
17 WYC And Y seide to hem, Ye knowen the turment, in which we ben, for Jerusalem is deseert, and the yatis therof ben wastid with fier; come ye, bilde we the wallis of Jerusalem, and be we no more schenship. BSB BSB: Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
18 WYC And Y schewide to hem the hond of my God, that it was good with me, and the wordis of the kyng, whiche he spak to me; and Y seide, Rise we, and bilde we; and the hondis of hem weren coumfortid in good. BSB BSB: I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me. “Let us start rebuilding,” they replied, and they set their hands to this good work.
19 WYC Forsothe Sanballath Oronytes, and Tobie, the seruaunt Amanytes, and Gosem Arabs, herden, and scorneden vs, and dispisiden; and seiden, What is this thing, which ye doon? whether ye rebellen ayens the kyng? BSB BSB: But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 WYC And Y yeldide to hem a word, and seide to hem, God hym silf of heuene helpith vs, and we ben hise seruauntis; rise we, and bilde; forsothe part and riytfulnesse and mynde in Jerusalem is not to you. BSB BSB: So I answered them and said, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no portion, right, or claim in Jerusalem.”
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