Nehemiah 2:4-6
2:4 The king responded, 1 “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven
2:5 and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined 2 and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.”
2:6 Then the king, with his consort 3 sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, 4 I gave him a time.
1 tn Heb “said to me.”
2 tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.” So also in v. 7.
3 tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”
4 tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”