⁷ I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River,^(A) so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.^{(B) 8} And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress,^(C) the city wall, and the home where I will live.”^[a](D) The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.^[b](E)

Good and Bad Governors

¹⁴ Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes^(A) appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah—from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, 12 years^(B)—I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor.