Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.
While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty
What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preac
nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would
Have we no right to food and to drink?
Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty
This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and g