Nehemiah 2
2
1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid. 3And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. 6And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may let me pass through till I come unto Judah; 8and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen. 10And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. 11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 13And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the dragon's well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 14Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. 16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. 17Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also of the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.
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Nehemiah 2: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Nehemiah 2
2
The King Shows Compassion to Nehemiah
1In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before.
2The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” (I was really afraid).
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, 5and 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.”
6Then, 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.
7I also asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, let me have letters addressed to the governors ⌞of the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River. In the letters tell them to grant me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. 8Also, let me have a letter addressed to Asaph, the supervisor of Your Majesty’s forest. In the letter order him to give me wood for the gates of the fortress near the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I’ll move into.” (The king let me have the letters, because God was guiding me.)
Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem
9I went to the governors ⌞of the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. (The king had sent army officers and cavalry to be with me.) 10But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were very upset that someone had come to give the people of Israel so much assistance.
Nehemiah Surveys the Damage to Jerusalem’s Walls
11I went to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12During the night I went out with a few men without telling anyone what my God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I had was the one I was riding. 13I went through Valley Gate that night toward Snake Fountain and Dung Gate and examined the places where the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and where its gates had been burned. 14Passing through Fountain Gate, I arrived at King’s Pool, but the animal I was riding couldn’t get through. 15So I went through the valley that night and examined the wall. Then I turned back, entered Valley Gate, and returned.
16The officials didn’t know where I had gone or what I had done. I hadn’t yet told the Jews, the priests, the leaders, the other officials, or any of the rest who would be doing the work. 17Then I told them, “You see the trouble we’re in. Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned down. Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be insulted.” 18Then I told them that my God had been guiding me and what the king had told me.
They replied, “Let’s begin to rebuild.” So they encouraged one another to begin this God-pleasing work.
19When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They asked, “What are you doing? Are you going to rebel against the king?”
20“The God of heaven will give us success,” I answered them. “We, his servants, are going to rebuild. You have no property or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”
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