Nehemiah 2:2-4

New Life Version

² So the king said to me, “Why is your face so sad when you are not sick? It must be that you are sad in your heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies waste and its gates destroyed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “What are you asking for?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.