Nehemiah 1:1-3

These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, I, Nehemiah, was in the capital city of Susa. One of my brothers named Hanani came with some other men from Judah. I asked them about Jerusalem and the Jewish people who lived through the captivity. They answered me, “Those who are left from the captivity are back in Judah, but they are in much trouble and are full of shame. The wall around Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned.”