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Blessed be the Lorde God of our fathers, which so hath put in the Kings heart, to beautifie the house of the Lord that is in Ierusalem,

And hath enclined mercy toward me, before the King and his counsellers, and before all the Kings mightie Princes: and I was comforted by the hand of the Lord my God which was vpon me, and I gathered the chiefe of Israel to goe vp with me.

And I gaue them commandement, to Iddo the chiefest at the place of Casiphia, & I told them the words that they should speake to Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims at the place of Casiphia, that they should cause the ministers of the house of our God to come vnto vs.

So by the good hande of our God which was vpon vs, they brought vs a man of vnderstanding of the sonnes of Mahali the sonne of Leui the sonne of Israel, and Sherebiah with his sonnes and his brethren, euen eighteene.

And there at the Riuer, by Ahaua, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble our selues before our God, and seeke of him a right way for vs, & for our children, and for all our substance.

For I was ashamed to require of the King an armie and horsemen, to helpe vs against the enemie in the way, because we had spoken to the King, saying, The hande of our God is vpon all them that seeke him in goodnesse, but his power & his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

So we fasted, aud besought our God for this: and he was intreated of vs.

And weighed them the siluer and the gold, and the vessels, euen the offring of ye house of our God, which the King and his counselers, and his Princes, & all Israel that were present had offred.

And I said vnto them, Ye are consecrate vnto the Lord, and the vessels are consecrate, and the gold and the siluer are freely offred vnto the Lord God of your fathers.

So the Priests and the Leuites receiued the weight of the siluer and of the golde, and of the vessels to bring them to Ierusalem, vnto the house of our God.

Then we departed from the Riuer of Ahauah on the twelft day of the first moneth, to go vnto Ierusalem, & the hand of our God was vpon vs, and deliuered vs from the hand of the enemie, and of such as layde waite by the way.

And on ye fourth day was the siluer weighed, and the golde and the vessell in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the sonne of Vriah the Priest, and with him was Eleazar the sonne of Phinehas, and with them was Iozabad the sonne of Ieshua, and Noadiah the sonne of Binnui the Leuites,

Also the children of the captiuitie, which were come out of captiuitie, offred burnt offrings vnto the God of Israel, twelue bullockes for all Israel, ninetie and sixe rammes, seuentie and seuen lambes, and twelue hee goates for sinne: all was a burnt offring of the Lord.

And they deliuered the Kings commission vnto the Kings officers, and to the captaines beyond the Riuer: and they promoted the people, and the house of God.

And there assembled vnto me all that feared the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of them of the captiuitie. And I sate downe astonied vntil the euening sacrifice.

And at the euening sacrifice I arose vp fro mine heauinesse, and when I had rent my clothes and my garment, I fell vpon my knees, and spred out mine hands vnto the Lord my God,

And said, O my God, I am confounded & ashamed, to lift vp mine eyes vnto thee my God: for our iniquities are increased ouer our head, & our trespasse is growen vp vnto the heauen.

And now for a litle space grace hath bene shewed from the Lord our God, in causing a remnant to escape, & in giuing vs a nayle in his holy place, that our God may light our eyes, & giue vs a litle reuiuing in our seruitude.

For though we were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken vs in our bondage, but hath enclined mercy vnto vs in the sight of the Kings of Persia, to giue vs life, & to erect the house of our God, & to redresse the places thereof, and to giue vs a wall in Iudah and in Ierusalem.

And nowe, our God, what shal we say after this? for we haue forsaken thy commandements,