Opposition to the Work

4 ^[a] Now when ^(A)Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. ² And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of ^(B)Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?^[b] Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” ^3 (C)Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—^(D)if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” ^4 (E)Hear, O our God, for we are despised. ^(F)Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. ^5 (G)Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

^7 [c] But when ^(H)Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. ^8 (I)And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. ⁹ And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

¹⁰ In Judah it was said,^[d] “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” ¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” ¹² At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”^{[e] 13} So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ^(J)“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, ^(K)who is great and awesome, ^(L)and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

The Work Resumes

¹⁵ When our enemies heard that it was known to us ^(M)and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. ¹⁶ From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and ^(N)coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, ¹⁷ who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. ¹⁸ And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹ And I said to ^(O)the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. ²⁰ In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. ^(P)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. ²² I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” ²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; ^(Q)each kept his weapon at his right hand.^[f]

Nehemiah Stops Oppression of the Poor

5 Now there arose ^(R)a great outcry of the people and of their wives ^(S)against their Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” ³ There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for ^(T)the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ Now ^(U)our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet ^(V)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”

⁶ I was very angry when I heard ^(W)their outcry and these words. ⁷ I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, ^(X)“You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them ⁸ and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, ^(Y)have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk ^(Z)in the fear of our God ^(AA)to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? ¹⁰ Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. ¹¹ Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We will restore these and ^(AB)require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and ^(AC)made them swear ^(AD)to do as they had promised. ^13 (AE)I also shook out the fold^[g] of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” ^(AF)And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Nehemiah's Generosity

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from ^(AG)the twentieth year to ^(AH)the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, ^(AI)neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. ¹⁵ The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration^[h] forty shekels^[i] of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, ^(AJ)because of the fear of God. ¹⁶ I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, there were ^(AK)at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ^18 (AL)Now what was prepared at my expense^[j] for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this ^(AM)I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. ^19 (AN)Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

Conspiracy Against Nehemiah

6 Now when ^(AO)Sanballat and Tobiah and ^(AP)Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (^(AQ)although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), ² Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of ^(AR)Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. ³ And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” ⁴ And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. ⁵ In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem^[k] also says it, that you and ^(AS)the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. ⁷ And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” ⁸ Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” ⁹ For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God,^[l] strengthen my hands.

¹⁰ Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was ^(AT)confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” ¹¹ But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?^[m] I will not go in.” ¹² And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, ^(AU)but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. ^14 (AV)Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also ^(AW)the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

The Wall Is Finished

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶ And ^(AX)when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, ^(AY)for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. ¹⁷ Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of ^(AZ)Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of ^(BA)Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. ¹⁹ Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

The Resurrection

24 ^(A)But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, ^(B)taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found ^(C)the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, ^(D)two ^(E)men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were ^(F)frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, ^(G)while he was still in Galilee, ^7 (H)that the Son of Man ^(I)must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and ^(J)be crucified and on ^(K)the third day rise.” ⁸ And ^(L)they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb they ^(M)told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was ^(N)Mary Magdalene and ^(O)Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, ¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and ^(P)they did not believe them. ¹² But ^(Q)Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw ^(R)the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ That very day ^(S)two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ^16 (T)But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was ^(U)a prophet ^(V)mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and ^(W)how our chief priests and ^(X)rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was ^(Y)the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now ^(Z)the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. ^(AA)They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and ^(AB)when they did not find his body, they came back saying that ^(AC)they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ^24 (AD)Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ^26 (AE)Was it not necessary that ^(AF)the Christ should suffer these things and enter into ^(AG)his glory?” ²⁷ And ^(AH)beginning with ^(AI)Moses and ^(AJ)all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. ^(AK)He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and ^(AL)the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and ^(AM)blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ^31 (AN)And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And ^(AO)he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, ^(AP)“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he ^(AQ)opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they ^(AR)found the eleven and ^(AS)those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and ^(AT)has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and ^(AU)how he was known to them in ^(AV)the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

³⁶ As they were talking about these things, ^(AW)Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ³⁷ But they were ^(AX)startled and ^(AY)frightened and ^(AZ)thought they saw a spirit. ³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. ^(BA)Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ And when he had said this, ^(BB)he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved ^(BC)for joy and were marveling, ^(BD)he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish,^{[b] 43} and he took it and ate before them.

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, ^(BE)“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, ^(BF)that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then ^(BG)he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus ^(BH)it is written, ^(BI)that the Christ should suffer and on the third day ^(BJ)rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that ^(BK)repentance for^[c] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed ^(BL)in his name ^(BM)to all nations, ^(BN)beginning from Jerusalem. ^48 (BO)You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending ^(BP)the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you ^(BQ)are clothed with ^(BR)power ^(BS)from on high.”

The Ascension

⁵⁰ And ^(BT)he led them out as far as ^(BU)Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, ^(BV)he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they ^(BW)worshiped him and ^(BX)returned to Jerusalem ^(BY)with great joy, ⁵³ and ^(BZ)were continually in the temple ^(CA)blessing God.