1 [1] The words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah. In the month Kislev of the twentieth year, I was in the citadel of Susa

2 when Hanani, one of my brothers, came with other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews, the remnant preserved after the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

3 They answered me: "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. The wall of Jerusalem has been breached, its gates gutted by fire."