Nehemiah 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem
2 During the month of Nisan[a] in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,(A) when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why are you[b] sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but depression.”[c](B)
I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I[d] not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”(C)
4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?”
So I prayed to the God of heaven(D) 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried,[e](E) so that I may rebuild it.”(F)
6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time,(G) and it pleased the king to send me.
7 I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River,(H) so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.(I) 8 And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress,(J) the city wall, and the home where I will live.”[f](K) The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.[g](L)
9 I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters.(M) The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite(N) and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.(O)
Preparing to Rebuild the Walls
11 After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,(P) 12 I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took[h] was the one I was riding. 13 I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s[i] Well and the Dung Gate,(Q) and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.(R) 14 I went on to the Fountain Gate(S) and the King’s Pool,(T) but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through. 15 So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate(U) and returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work. 17 So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned down.(V) Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall,(W) so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” 18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me,(X) and what the king had said to me.
They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and they were encouraged[j] to do this good work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official,(Y) and Geshem the Arab(Z) heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”(AA)
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 2:1 = March–April; called Abib in the pre-exilic period; Ex 13:4; Dt 16:1
- Nehemiah 2:2 Lit Why is your face
- Nehemiah 2:2 Lit sadness of heart
- Nehemiah 2:3 Lit my face
- Nehemiah 2:5 Lit city, the house of the graves of my fathers,
- Nehemiah 2:8 Lit enter
- Nehemiah 2:8 Lit for the gracious hand of my God was on me
- Nehemiah 2:12 Lit animal with me
- Nehemiah 2:13 Or Dragon’s
- Nehemiah 2:18 Lit they put their hands
Nehemiah 2
Easy-to-Read Version
The King Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem
2 In the month of Nisan in the 20th year[a] of King Artaxerxes, some wine was brought to the king. I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never before been sad when I was with him, but now I was sad. 2 So the king asked me, “Are you sick? Why do you look sad? I think your heart is full of sadness.”
Then I was very afraid. 3 But even though I was afraid, I said to the king, “May the king live forever! I am sad because the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and the gates of that city have been destroyed by fire.”
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you want me to do?”
Before I answered, I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I answered the king, “If it would please the king, and if I have been good to you, please send me to Jerusalem, the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried. I want to go there and rebuild that city.”
6 The king and the queen who was sitting next to him asked me, “How long will your trip take? When will you get back here?”
The king was happy to send me, so I gave him a certain time. 7 I also said to the king, “If it would please the king to do something else for me, let me ask. Please give me some letters to show the governors of the area west of the Euphrates River. I need these letters so that the governors will give me permission to pass safely through their lands on my way to Judah. 8 I also need lumber for the heavy wooden beams for the gates, the walls, the walls around the Temple, and my house. So I need a letter from you to Asaph, who is in charge of your forests.”
The king gave me the letters and everything I asked for. The king did that because my God was kind to me.
9 So I went to the governors of the area west of the Euphrates River and gave them the letters from the king. The king had also sent army officers and soldiers on horses with me. 10 Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what I was doing. They were very upset and angry that someone had come to help the Israelites.
Nehemiah Inspects the Walls of Jerusalem
11-12 I went to Jerusalem and stayed there three days. Then at night I started out with a few men. I had not said anything to anyone about what my God had put on my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no horses with me except the horse I was riding. 13 While it was dark I went out through the Valley Gate. I rode toward the Dragon Well and the Gate of the Ash Piles. I was inspecting the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates in the wall that had been burned with fire. 14 Then I rode on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool. As I got close, I could see there was not enough room for my horse to get through. 15 So I went up the valley in the dark, inspecting the wall. Finally, I turned back and went back in through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials and important Israelites didn’t know where I had gone. They didn’t know what I was doing. I had not yet said anything to the Jews, the priests, the king’s family, the officials, or any of the other people who would be doing the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You can see the trouble we have here: Jerusalem is a pile of ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. Then we will not be ashamed anymore.”
18 I also told them that my God had been kind to me. I told them what the king had said to me. Then they answered, “Let’s start to work, now!” So we began this good work. 19 But Sanballat from Horon, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard that we were building again. They made fun of us in a very ugly way. They said, “What are you doing? Are you turning against the king?”
20 But this is what I said to them: “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We are God’s servants and we will rebuild this city. You cannot help us in this work because none of your family lived here in Jerusalem. You don’t own any of this land, and you have no right to be in this place.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 2:1 20th year That is, 443 B.C.
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