Neh 2:1-3, Pro 25:20 | ESV | STEP | In the month of Nisan , in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes , when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king . Now I had not been sad in his presence .

Nehemiah 2:1-3

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

1 In the month of Nisan, ^ain the twentieth year of King ^bArtaxerxes, when wine was before him, ^cI took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but ^dsadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, ^e“Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, ^fwhen the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

Proverbs 25:20

20 Whoever ^gsings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.