⁹ For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(A)for the good hand of his God was on him.

^28 (A)and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

¹⁸ And ^(A)by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of ^(B)Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18;

²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ^(A)“The hand of our God is for good on ^(B)all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”

³¹ Then we departed from the river Ahava ^(A)on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^(B)The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.