Chronological

Nehemiah’s Prayer for the People

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

It happened in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, that I myself was in the citadel in Susa, ² and one of my brothers, Hanani, came with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped the captivity and about Jerusalem. ³ They replied to me, “The survivors in the province who have survived the captivity are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned in the fire.”

⁴ When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. ⁵ I said, “O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands. ⁶ Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the Israelites,^[a] and confessing the sins of the Israelites^[b] that we have sinned against you. I and my father’s house have sinned. ⁷ We have certainly offended you and have not kept the commands, regulations, and judgments that you have commanded your servant Moses. ⁸ Please, remember the word that you have commanded to your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you act unfaithfully I will scatter you all among the nations. ⁹ But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even though all of your outcasts are at the furthest parts of heaven, I will gather them and bring them to the place which I have chosen to make my name dwell.’ ¹⁰ They are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, please let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to revere in your name. Please, let your servant be successful this day and give him compassion before this man.”

I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah Sent

2 It happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad before the king. ² So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” And I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad when the city of my ancestors’^[c] burial site^[d] is ruined and her gates are consumed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of the heavens. ⁵ Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your presence, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’^[e] burial sites, so that I may rebuild it.”

⁶ With the queen sitting beside him, the king said to me, “How long will your journey be and when will you return?” So it pleased the king and he sent me, and I set for him an appointed time. ⁷ Then I said to the king, “If it is good for the king, let letters be given to me for the governors in the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass until I come to Judah. ⁸ Also, a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s land reserve, that he should give me timber for laying the beams for the gates of the citadel of the house and for the walls of the city, and for the house which I will enter.” And the king gave permission to me, according to the good hand of God on me.

⁹ I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and I gave them the letters of the king. Then the king sent troop commanders and horses with me. ¹⁰ But when Sanballat the Horonite and the Ammonite servant Tobiah heard this, they were greatly displeased^[f] that a person had come to seek the welfare of the Israelites.^[g]

Nehemiah Inspects the Walls and Decides to Restore Them

¹¹ I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² I got up during the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anybody what my God put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. No animal was with me except the animal that I was riding on. ¹³ I went out during the night at the gate of the valley by the Dragon spring and to the Dung Gate. And I examined the walls in Jerusalem and its gates that had been destroyed by the fire. ¹⁴ I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount^[h] to cross over. ¹⁵ So I went up by the valley during the night and was examining the wall. Then I returned and came to the Valley Gate and returned. ¹⁶ The prefects did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the prefects, and the rest of the workers.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the misery that we are in, that Jerusalem is ruined and its gates burned by the fire. Come, build the walls of Jerusalem and we shall no longer be a disgrace.” ¹⁸ I told them of the good hand of my God that was upon me and surely the words of the king that were spoken to me. And they said, “Let us arise and build!” And they strengthened their hands for this good work. ¹⁹ But Sanballat the Horonite, the Ammonite servant Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard it, and they mocked and despised us, saying, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰ Then I answered and said to them, “The God of the heavens himself will let us succeed, and we his servants shall arise and build. But for you there is no share, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Organization of the Work

3 Then Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests arose and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and erected its doors. They consecrated it up to the Tower of the Hundred and up to the Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him^[i] the men of Jericho built, and next to him^[j] Zaccur son of Imri built.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ Next to them^[k] Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired. Next to them^[l] Meshullam son of Berekiah, son of Meshezabel, repaired. Next to them^[m] Zadok son of Baana repaired. ⁵ Next to them^[n] the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles did not put their neck to the work of their lord.

⁶ Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam repaired the old Yeshanah Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ Next to them^[o] Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah who were under the rule of the governor of the province Beyond the River, repaired. ⁸ Next to him^[p] Uzziel son of Harhaiah (goldsmiths) repaired. Next to him^[q] Hananiah son of the perfume-makers repaired. They restored Jerusalem up to the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them^[r] Rephaiah son of Hur, commander of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. ¹⁰ Next to them^[s] Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. Next to him^[t] Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired.

¹¹ Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to him^[u] Shallum son of Hallohesh, commander of half of the district of Jerusalem, repaired with his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall up to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malkijah son of Recab, commander of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵ Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, the commander of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and erected its doors, its bolts, its bars, and he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, right up to the steps going down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, commander of half of the district of Beth Zur, repaired up to a point opposite the burial sites of David, and up to the artificial pool and to the house of the mighty warriors.

¹⁷ After him the Levites repaired; Rehum son of Bani, and next to him Hashabiah, commander of half of the district of Keilah, repaired his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai son of Henadad, commander of half of the district of Keilah, ¹⁹ next to him^[v] Ezer son of Jeshua, commander of Mizpah, repaired a second section of a wall opposite of the ascent of the armory at the angle. ²⁰ After him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired a second section of a wall from the angle up to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired a second section of a wall from the doorway of the house of Eliashib up to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²² After him the priests, men from the vicinity, repaired. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, repaired beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired a second section of a wall from the house of Azariah up to the angle up to the corner. ²⁵ Palal son of Uzai repaired opposite the Angle at the tower that juts out from the upper house of the king, at the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh ²⁶ and the temple servants who were living on Ophel repaired up to opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him the Tekoites repaired a second section of a wall opposite the projecting tower that goes out as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his house. ²⁹ After them Zadok son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, repaired. ³⁰ After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired the wall opposite his room. ³¹ After him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths,^[w] repaired up to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Enrollment Gate and up to the upper room of the corner. ³² Between the upper room of the corner to the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants repaired.

Opposition Begins

4 ^[x] Now it happened when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he became angry and greatly provoked, and he mocked the Jews. ² Then he said before his brothers and the army of Samaria, “What are the feeble Jews doing? Will they restore these things for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the piles of rubble—even those burned up?”

³ Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, “Their wall of stone that they are building would break down if a fox went on it!”

⁴ Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn on their head and give them over to plunder in the land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have provoked the builders to anger.^[y]

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall, and all of the wall was joined up to half its height. For the people had a heart to do it.

Opposition Stopped

⁷ Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem were going forward and the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them plotted together to come fight against Jerusalem and to make trouble for it. ⁹ So we prayed to our God and set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ But Judah said, “The strength of the carriers is failing, and there is too much dirt, and we are not able to build at the wall.” ¹¹ Then our enemies said, “They will not know nor see until we come upon them and will kill them and stop the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived beside them came, they said to us ten times, “From all of the places where they live, they will come up against us.” ¹³ I stationed the people behind the deepest part of the wall in the open places according to their families, with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ And I looked, got up, and said to the nobles, prefects, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ It happened when our enemies heard that their plan was known to us, that God had frustrated it, and we all returned to the wall—each to his work. ¹⁶ From that day, half of my servants were working on craftsmanship, half were holding spears, small shields, bows, and breastplates. The commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. ¹⁷ The ones who were building the wall and the ones who carried the materials^[z] were carrying in one hand while doing the task, and with the other hand were grasping a weapon. ¹⁸ Each of the builders had his sword tied to his side while building. And the man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹ I said to the nobles, to the prefects, and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widespread, and we are spread out over the wall far from each other. ²⁰ Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, come together to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we labored at the work, and half of them were holding the spears from dawn until the stars came out. ²² At the time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they will be a guard for us in the night and work in the day.” ²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my young men nor the men of the guard who were behind me took off our clothes. Each one kept his weapon even in the water.

Nehemiah Deals with Strife

5 Now there was a great cry of distress of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. ² There were those who were saying, “Our sons and daughters, we are many. We must get grain so that we may eat and live.” ³ There were also those saying, “We have pledged our fields and our vineyards and our houses so that we can get grain in the famine.” ⁴ And there were those who were saying, “We have borrowed money on our fields and our vineyards for the tax of the king. ⁵ Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our sons are like their sons. Look, we are subduing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and there are some from our daughters being molested. We are powerless,^[aa] and our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ I was very angry when I heard their shouts and these words. ⁷ I thought over this in my heart, and then I quarreled with the nobles and the prefects. I said to them, “You yourselves are taking interest from your own brother!” So I called the great assembly against them, ⁸ and I said to them: “We ourselves have bought back our brothers the Jews who were sold to the nations as we were able. But now you yourselves have sold your brothers so they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.

⁹ So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the disgrace from the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ Also, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please stop taking this interest. ¹¹ Please restore to them this day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, their houses, and the interest on the money, the grain, the grape juice, and the olive oil that you have been taking from them.” ¹² So they said, “We will restore it and will not request anything more. So we will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made them take an oath to do this promise. ¹³ I also shook out my garment and said, “This is how God will shake out everyone from his house who will not keep this promise. So this is how his possessions will be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised Yahweh, and the people kept this promise.

Nehemiah Denies His Allotment

¹⁴ Moreover, from the appointed day I was made their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes—twelve years. My brothers and I did not eat the food allowance of the governor. ¹⁵ The former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and they took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels. Also, their servants controlled the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God. ¹⁶ I also devoted myself to the work of this wall, and we did not buy land. All of my servants were gathered for the work. ¹⁷ One hundred and fifty men, prefects and Jews, and those who came to us from the nations around us, were at my table. ¹⁸ Now what was prepared each day for me was one ox, six choice sheep, and birds. And every ten days all kinds of wine were made. But for this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor because the slavery was too heavy on this people. ¹⁹ Remember me for good, my God, all that I have done for this people.