Introduction

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^(C)by the will of God, and our brother ^(D)Timothy,

To ^(E)the church of God which is at ^(F)Corinth with all the ^[a]saints who are throughout ^(G)Achaia:

^2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^(J)God of all comfort, ⁴ who ^(K)comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ^[b]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For just ^(L)as the sufferings of Christ are ^[c]ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. ⁶ But if we are afflicted, it is ^(M)for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; ⁷ and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that ^(N)as you are partners in our sufferings, so also you are in our comfort.

⁸ For ^(O)we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our ^(P)affliction which occurred in ^[d](Q)Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. ^9 [e]Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who ^(R)rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He ^[f](S)on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹ if you also join in ^(T)helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by ^(U)many persons in our behalf for the favor granted to us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Integrity

¹² For our ^[g]proud confidence is this: the testimony of ^(V)our conscience, that in holiness and ^(W)godly sincerity, ^(X)not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. ¹³ For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand ^(Y)until the end; ¹⁴ just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, on ^(Z)the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ In this confidence I intended at first to ^(AA)come to you, so that you might ^[h]twice receive a ^[i](AB)blessing; ^16 [j]that is, to ^(AC)pass ^[k]your way into ^(AD)Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^(AE)helped on my journey to Judea. ¹⁷ Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I decide, do I decide ^(AF)according to the flesh, so that with me there will be ^[l]yes, yes and no, no at the same time? ¹⁸ But as ^(AG)God is faithful, ^(AH)our word to you is not yes and no. ¹⁹ For ^(AI)the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^(AJ)Silvanus and ^(AK)Timothy—was not yes and no, but has been yes ^(AL)in Him. ²⁰ For ^(AM)as many as the promises of God are, ^(AN)in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is ^(AO)our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who ^(AP)establishes us with you in Christ and ^(AQ)anointed us is God, ²² who also ^(AR)sealed us and ^(AS)gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a ^[m]pledge.

²³ But ^(AT)I call God as witness to my soul, that it was ^(AU)to spare you that I did not come again to ^(AV)Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we ^(AW)domineer over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^(AX)standing firm.

Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.

A Song of Ascents.

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^(B)the month Chislev, ^(C)in the twentieth year, while I was in ^(D)Susa the ^[a]capitol, ² that ^(E)Hanani, one of my brothers, ^[b]and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ^[c]and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the ^(F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^(G)disgrace, and ^(H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^(I)its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴ Now when I heard these words, ^(J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^(K)the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, ^(L)the great and awesome God, ^(M)who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: ^6 (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^(O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; ^(P)I and my father’s house have sinned. ^7 (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^(R)which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^(S)If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ^9 (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^(U)will gather them from there and bring them ^(V)to the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’ ^10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ Please, Lord, ^(X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ^[d]revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.”

Now I was the ^(Y)cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah’s Prayer Answered

2 And it came about in the month Nisan, ^(Z)in the twentieth year of King ^(AA)Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and ^(AB)I picked up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. ² So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? ^(AC)This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ And I said to the king, “^(AD)May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad ^(AE)when the city, the ^[e]site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “^[f]What would you request?” ^(AF)So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, I request that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” ⁶ Then the king said to me, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and ^(AG)I gave him a definite time. ⁷ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me ^(AH)for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s ^(AI)forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of ^(AJ)the citadel which is by the ^[g]temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because ^(AK)the good hand of my God was on me.

⁹ Then I came to ^(AL)the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. Now ^(AM)the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. ¹⁰ And when ^(AN)Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ^[h]official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

¹¹ So I ^(AO)came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² And I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my ^[i]mind to do for Jerusalem, and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. ¹³ So I went out at night by ^(AP)the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Spring and on to the Dung Gate, and I was inspecting the walls of Jerusalem ^(AQ)which were broken down and its ^(AR)gates which had been consumed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I passed on to ^(AS)the Fountain Gate and ^(AT)the King’s Pool, but there was no place for ^[j]my mount to pass. ¹⁵ So I was going up at night by the ^(AU)ravine and inspecting the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. ¹⁶ However, the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest who were doing the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that ^(AV)Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” ¹⁸ And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let’s arise and build.” ^(AW)So they put their hands to the good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ^[k]official, and ^(AX)Geshem the Arab heard about it, ^(AY)they mocked us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^(AZ)Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰ So I answered them and said to them, “^(BA)The God of heaven will make us successful; therefore we His servants will arise and build, ^(BB)but you have no part, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”