¹⁴ Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,^(A) when I was appointed to be their governor^(B) in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked^(A) night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.