Nehemiah 2:7

New Century Version

I also said to him, "If you are willing, give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates. Tell them to let me pass safely through their lands on my way to Judah.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.

Hebrew Names Version
Moreover I said to 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 until I come to Yehudah;

King James Version
Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

English Standard Version
And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,

New English Translation
I said to the king, "If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah,

Amplified Bible
Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the provinces beyond the [Euphrates] River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I reach Judah,

New American Standard Bible
And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I come to Judah,

World English Bible
Moreover I said to 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 until I come to Judah;

Geneva Bible (1587)
After I saide vnto the King, If it please the King, let them giue mee letters to the captaines beyond the Riuer, that they may conuay me ouer, till I come into Iudah,

Legacy Standard Bible
And I said to the king, "If it is good to the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah,

Berean Standard Bible
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.

Contemporary English Version
Then I asked, "Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah?

Complete Jewish Bible
I then said to the king, "If it pleases the king, have letters given to me for the governors of the territory beyond the [Euphrates] River, so that they will let me pass through until I reach Y'hudah;

Darby Translation
And I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may set me forward till I come into Judah;

Easy-to-Read Version
I also said to the king, "If it would please the king to do something else for me, let me ask. Please give me some letters to show the governors of the area west of the Euphrates River. I need these letters so that the governors will give me permission to pass safely through their lands on my way to Judah.

George Lamsa Translation
Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river Euphrates, that they may escort me over till I come to Judah;

Good News Translation
Then I asked him to grant me the favor of giving me letters to the governors of West-of-Euphrates Province, instructing them to let me travel to Judah.

Lexham English Bible
Then I said to the king, "If it is good for the king, let letters be given to me for the governors in the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass until I come to Judah.

Literal Translation
And I said to the king, If it is good to the king, let letters be given me to the governors Beyond the River, so that they may let me go through until I come to Judah;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& sayde vnto the kynge: Yf it please the kynge, let him geue me letters to the Debites beyonde ye water, yt they maye conueye me ouer, tyll I come in to Iuda:

American Standard Version
Moreover 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;

Bible in Basic English
Further, I said to the king, If it is the king's pleasure, let letters be given to me for the rulers across the river, so that they may let me go through till I come to Judah;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And sayde vnto the king: If it please the king, let hym geue me letters to the captaynes whiche are beyonde the water, that they may conuay me ouer, till I come into Iuda:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Moreover 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;

King James Version (1611)
Moreouer I saide vnto the king, If it please the king, let letters be giuen mee to the gouernours beyond the Riuer, that they may conuey me ouer, till I come into Iudah;

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I said to the king, If it seem good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors beyond the river, so as to forward me till I come to Juda;

English Revised Version
Moreover 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;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
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;

Update Bible Version
Moreover I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah;

Webster's Bible Translation
Moreover, I said to the king, If it should please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah:

New King James Version
Furthermore I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, [fn] that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,

New Living Translation
I also said to the king, "If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah.

New Life Bible
And I said to the king, "If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the leaders of the lands on the other side of the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah.

New Revised Standard
Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said I unto the king, If, unto the king, it seemeth good, may, letters, be given me, unto the pashas Beyond the River, - that they may convey me over, until I come into Judah;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I said to the king: If it seem good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors of the country beyond the river, that they convey me over, till I come into Judea:

Revised Standard Version
And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah;

Young's Literal Translation
And I say to the king, `If to the king [it be] good, letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah:

THE MESSAGE
Then I said, "If it please the king, provide me with letters to the governors across the Euphrates that authorize my travel through to Judah; and also an order to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of The Temple fortress, the wall of the city, and the house where I'll be living." The generous hand of my God was with me in this and the king gave them to me. When I met the governors across The River (the Euphrates) I showed them the king's letters. The king even sent along a cavalry escort. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very upset, angry that anyone would come to look after the interests of the People of Israel. And so I arrived in Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, I got up in the middle of the night, I and a few men who were with me. I hadn't told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I was riding. Under cover of night I went past the Valley Gate toward the Dragon's Fountain to the Dung Gate looking over the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken through and whose gates had been burned up. I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and headed for the King's Pool but there wasn't enough room for the donkey I was riding to get through. So I went up the valley in the dark continuing my inspection of the wall. I came back in through the Valley Gate. The local officials had no idea where I'd gone or what I was doing—I hadn't breathed a word to the Jews, priests, nobles, local officials, or anyone else who would be working on the job. Then I gave them my report: "Face it: we're in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come—let's build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer." I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, "We're with you. Let's get started." They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work. When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they laughed at us, mocking, "Ha! What do you think you're doing? Do you think you can cross the king?" I shot back, "The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We're his servants and we're going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this—Jerusalem's none of your business!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And I said to the king, "If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah,

Contextual Overview

¹ It was the month of Nisan in the twentieth year Artaxerxes was king. He wanted some wine, so I took some and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. ² So the king said, "Why does your face look sad even though you are not sick? Your heart must be sad." Then I was very afraid. ³ I said to the king, "May the king live forever! My face is sad because the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire." ⁴ Then the king said to me, "What do you want?" First I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I answered the king, "If you are willing and if I have pleased you, send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so I can rebuild it." ⁶ The queen was sitting next to the king. He asked me, "How long will your trip take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me, so I set a time. ⁷ I also said to him, "If you are willing, give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates. Tell them to let me pass safely through their lands on my way to Judah. ⁸ And may I have a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, telling him to give me timber? I will need it to make boards for the gates of the palace, which is by the Temple, and for the city wall, and for the house in which I will live." So the king gave me the letters, because God was showing kindness to me.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

let letters: Nehemiah 2:9, Ezra 6:6, Ezra 7:21

that they may: Ezra 8:22

Reciprocal: Ezra 5:3 - Tatnai Isaiah 60:10 - their kings

Cross-References

Genesis 2:14
The third river, named Tigris, flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Genesis 2:15
The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it.

Genesis 2:20
The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky, and to all the wild animals. But Adam did not find a helper that was right for him.

Genesis 2:21
So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man's ribs. Then God closed up the man's skin at the place where he took the rib.

Genesis 3:23
So the Lord God forced Adam out of the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

Genesis 7:22
So everything on dry land that had the breath of life in it died.

Numbers 16:22
But Moses and Aaron bowed facedown and cried out, "God, you are the God over the spirits of all people. Please don't be angry with this whole group. Only one man has really sinned."

Numbers 27:16
"The Lord is the God of the spirits of all people. May he choose a leader for these people,

Job 4:19
So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses, whose foundations are made of dust, who can be crushed like a moth.

Job 27:3
as long as I am alive and God's breath of life is in my nose,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Moreover, I said unto the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river,.... The river of Euphrates, on that side of it towards the land of Judea:

that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; furnish him with provisions, and a guard to protect him.