3. “May the king live forever!” I said to the king. “Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?”
4. “What do you want?” the king asked me.So I prayed to the God of heaven,
5. and I asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.”
6. Then, while the queen was sitting beside him, the king asked me, “How long will you be gone, and when will you come back?” When I gave him a specific date, he was willing to let me go.