<p class="bodytext">But I replied, &#8220;Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life?<n id="1" /> I will not go!&#8221;

I said to the king, &#8220;If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates<n id="1" /> that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah,

and a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king&#8217;s nature preserve,<n id="1" /> so that he will give me timber for beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the temple and for the city wall<n id="2" /> and for the house to which I go.&#8221; So the king granted me these requests,<n id="3" /> for the good hand of my God was on me.