Nehemiah 2:5-6

2:5 and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined ¹  and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.” 2:6 Then the king, with his consort ²  sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, ³  I gave him a time.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.” So also in v. 7.

[2:6]  ² tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”

[2:6]  ³ tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”