The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the palace, Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
They said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach.
The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”