Beginning
Nehemiah Intercedes for Jerusalem
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
Now it happened that in the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in Shushan the capitol, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, together with some men from Judah, arrived and I asked them about the Judeans, the remnant who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “The remnant who have survived the captivity there in the province are in great distress and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 Upon hearing these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days. I prayed and fasted before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said:
“Adonai, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness with those who love Him and keep His mitzvot, 6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant that I am praying before You today both day and night on behalf of Your servants, the Bnei-Yisrael. I am confessing the sins of Bnei-Yisrael that we have sinned against You—yes, I and my ancestral house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You. We have not kept the mitzvot, the statutes, nor the rulings that You commanded Your servant Moses.
8 “Please recall the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to Me and obey My mitzvot, and do them, then even if your dispersed people are at the ends of the heavens, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place where I have chosen for My Name to dwell.’
10 “They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great strength and by Your mighty hand. 11 Please, my Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who delight in revering Your Name. Give Your servant success today and grant compassion in the presence of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Favor with the King
2 Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. 2 So the king said to me, “Why is your face so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very frightened, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 The king asked me, “What is your request?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it seems good to the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried that I may rebuild it.”
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” Since it pleased the king to send me, I set a time for him.
7 I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to pass through until I arrive in Judah, 8 as well as a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest so he will give me lumber to make beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the Temple, for the wall of the city and for the residence I will occupy.”
The king granted me the requests because the good hand of my God was upon me.
9 Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and I gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officials and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite officials heard all this, they were very displeased that a man had come to seek the welfare of Bnei-Yisrael.
Inspecting the Walls
11 I came to Jerusalem, and after I was there for three days, 12 I got up during the night along with a few men. But I did not tell anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me except the animal I was riding. 13 By night I went out by the Valley Gate toward Jackal Spring and the Dung Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, where there was not enough room for my animal to pass with me; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and returned to the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, but as yet I had not told the Jews, the kohanim, the nobles, the officials or the rest of the workers.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burnt. Come! Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
18 Then I told them how the good hand of my God was on me and the words that the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let us begin building!” So they prepared themselves for this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I responded to them saying, “The God of heaven will bring us success. We His servants will arise and build. But you have no part, right, or historical claim in Jerusalem.”
The Builders of the Wall
3 Then Eliashib the kohen gadol and his brothers, the kohanim, arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set up its doors, dedicating it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 The men of Jericho built next to it and Zaccur the son of Imri built next to them.
3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4 Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz made repairs. Adjacent to them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel made repairs, and next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. 5 The men of Tekoa made repairs next to them, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their masters.
6 Joiada son of Paseah, and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts and its bars. 7 Adjacent to them worked Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, men from Gibeon and Mizpah who are under the jurisdiction of the governor of Trans-Euphrates. 8 Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, worked adjacent to him, and Hananiah, one of the perfumers, worked next to him. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem made repairs next to them. 10 Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the section adjacent to them opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah worked next to them. 11 Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Furnaces. 12 Shallum son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, and his daughters repaired the next section.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. They also repaired a thousand cubits of wall up to the Dung Gate.
14 Malchijah son of Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth-cherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He built it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
15 Shallun son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the King’s Garden, as far as the stairs going down from the City of David. 16 Beyond him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as the tombs of David and the artificial pool and the House of the Warriors.
17 After him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and beside him, Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18 After him repairs were made by their brothers under Bavvai son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19 Adjacent to him Ezer son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the corner buttress. 20 After him Baruch son of Zaccai zealously repaired another section from the corner buttress up to the door of the house of Eliashib, the kohen gadol. 21 After him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 And after him the kohanim worked, men from the surrounding district. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, worked beside his house. 24 Beyond him Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section from the house of Azariah up to the inner buttress and the corner. 25 Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the inner buttress and the tower coming out from the upper palace, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the Temple servants living on the Ophel made repairs up to the area opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. 27 After him the men of Tekoa repaired another section from opposite the great projecting tower to the wall of the Ophel.
28 Above the Horse Gate the kohanim worked, each in front of his own house. 29 After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house and after him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs. 30 After him Hananiah, son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another portion. After him Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his living quarters. 31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs up to the house of the Temple servants, and the merchants opposite the Inspection Gate and as far as the room above the corner. 32 Between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants worked.
Opposition Mocks the Rebuilding
33 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he became very angry and was greatly enraged. He mocked the Jews 34 in the presence of his colleagues and the army of Samaria, saying:
“What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble that are burnt?”
35 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said: “Even if a fox climbed on what they are building, it would break down their stone wall!”
36 Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insult back on their own head! Give them up as plunder in a land of captivity. 37 Do not cover their guilt or blot out their sin from before You, for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
38 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a heart to work.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.