Why does Nehemiah preface his request with saying, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight”?
With these words Nehemiah expresses deference to the king, recognizing that he is fully dependent on the king’s goodwill (at least, from an earthly perspective).
5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”