Nehemiah 2
New American Standard Bible
Nehemiah’s Prayer Answered
2 And it came about in the month Nisan, (A)in the twentieth year of King (B)Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and (C)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? (D)This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 And I said to the king, “(E)May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad (F)when the city, the [a]site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “[b]What would you request?” (G)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 (H)I gave him a definite time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me (I)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 (J)forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of (K)the citadel which is by the [c]temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because (L)the good hand of my God was on me.
9 Then I came to (M)the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. Now (N)the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 And when (O)Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite [d]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 (P)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 [e]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 (Q)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 (R)which were broken down and its (S)gates which had been consumed by fire. 14 Then I passed on to (T)the Fountain Gate and (U)the King’s Pool, but there was no place for [f]my mount to pass. 15 So I was going up at night by the (V)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 (W)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.” (X)So they put their hands to the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite [g]official, and (Y)Geshem the Arab heard about it, (Z)they mocked us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? (AA)Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 So I answered them and said to them, “(AB)The God of heaven will make us successful; therefore we His servants will arise and build, (AC)but you have no part, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 2:3 Lit house
- Nehemiah 2:4 Lit For what is this you
- Nehemiah 2:8 Lit house
- Nehemiah 2:10 Lit servant
- Nehemiah 2:12 Lit heart
- Nehemiah 2:14 Lit the animal under me
- Nehemiah 2:19 Lit servant
Nehemiah 2
New Living Translation
Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem
2 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan,[a] during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”
Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”
With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River,[b] instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.
9 When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen[c] to protect me. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very displeased that someone had come to help the people of Israel.
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Wall
11 So I arrived in Jerusalem. Three days later, 12 I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding. 13 After dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well,[d] and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. 14 Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble. 15 So, though it was still dark, I went up the Kidron Valley[e] instead, inspecting the wall before I turned back and entered again at the Valley Gate.
16 The city officials did not know I had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration. 17 But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” 18 Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.
They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.
19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.
20 I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
