17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.(A) Come, let us rebuild the wall(B) of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.(C) 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me(D) and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

19 But when Sanballat(E) the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem(F) the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us.(G) “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding,(H) but as for you, you have no share(I) in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

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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.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 2:18 Lit. them the good hand of my God upon
  2. Nehemiah 2:19 The Heb. lacks about it