17 So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned down.(A) Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall,(B) so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” 18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me,(C) and what the king had said to me.

They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and they were encouraged[a] to do this good work.

19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official,(D) and Geshem the Arab(E) 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.”(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 2:18 Lit they put their hands

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