Nehemiah 2:17-20
New English Translation
17 Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have—Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.” 18 Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what[a] the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!”[b] So they readied themselves[c] for this good project. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this,[d] they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I responded to them by saying, “The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding.[e] But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.”[f]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 2:18 tn Heb “the words of the king which he had spoken to me.”
- Nehemiah 2:18 tn Heb “Arise! Let us rebuild!”
- Nehemiah 2:18 tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”
- Nehemiah 2:19 tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “all this,” but they have been added in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 2:20 tn Heb “will arise and build.” The idiom “arise and…” means to begin the action described by the second verb.
- Nehemiah 2:20 tn Heb “portion or right or remembrance.” The expression is probably a hendiatris: The first two nouns retain their full nominal function, while the third noun functions adjectivally (“right or remembrance” = “ancient right”).
Nehemiah 2:17-20
International Standard Version
17 Later I told them, “You all are watching the predicament we’re in, how Jerusalem lies desolate, with its gates burned by fire. Let’s rebuild the Jerusalem wall so we’re no longer a disgrace.” 18 Then I told them how good my God had been to[a] me, and about what the king had told me.
They replied, “Let’s get out there and build!” So they encouraged themselves to do good.
Nehemiah Replies to Sanballat
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, his servant Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab heard about it,[b] they jeered at us and despised us when they said, “What is this thing that you’re doing? You’re rebelling against the king, aren’t you?”
20 In reply to them, I said, “The God of Heaven will prosper us. That’s why we’re preparing to build. But as far as you’re concerned, there exists no ancestral heritage, no legal right, nor any historic claim in Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 2:18 Lit. them the good hand of my God upon
- Nehemiah 2:19 The Heb. lacks about it
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