⁹ On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(A)according to the good hand of his God upon him.

²⁸ and ^(A)has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.

So I was encouraged, as ^(B)the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

²² For ^(A)I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ^(B)“The hand of our God is upon all those for ^(C)good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are ^(D)against all those who ^(E)forsake Him.”