Chronological

Nehemiah Prays for His People

1 These are the words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the king’s house in Susa, ² Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came. I asked them about the Jews who were still living and had gotten away from Babylon, and about Jerusalem. ³ They said to me, “The Jews who are left who have returned to the land from Babylon are in much trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and cried and was filled with sorrow for days. I did not eat, and I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great God Who is honored with fear, Who keeps the agreement and loving-kindness for those who love Him and keep His Laws, ⁶ listen to me and let Your eyes be open. Hear the prayer of Your servant which I now pray to You day and night for the sons of Israel Your servants, telling the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You. I and my father’s house have sinned. ⁷ We have sinned in our actions against You. We have not kept the Laws which You gave to Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember what You told Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are not faithful, I will make you go different places in other nations. ⁹ But if you return to Me and keep My Laws and obey them, I will gather you and bring you to the place where I have chosen for My name to be. I will do this even if you have been spread out to the farthest part of the heavens.’ ¹⁰ They are Your servants and Your people whom You have made free by Your great power and strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, hear the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who are happy to fear Your name. Make Your servant do well today, and give him loving-pity in front of this man.”

Now I was the one who carried the cup for the king.

The King Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

2 In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, wine was in front of him. And I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in front of him before. ² So the king said to me, “Why is your face so sad when you are not sick? It must be that you are sad in your heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies waste and its gates destroyed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “What are you asking for?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your eyes, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves. Let me build it again.” ⁶ The king said to me, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. ⁷ And I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the leaders of the lands on the other side of the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah. ⁸ Send a letter with me for Asaph, the keeper of the king’s trees, that he may give me cut trees. These will be for making heavy wood pieces for the gates of the strong place by the house of God, and for the city wall, and for the house where I will stay.” And the king gave me what I asked for, because the good hand of my God was upon me.

⁹ Then I came to the leaders of the lands on the other side of the River and gave them the letters. Now the king had sent army captains and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite workman heard about it, they were not pleased that someone had come to make things go well for the sons of Israel.

¹¹ I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² Then I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me except the one I was sitting on. ¹³ I went out at night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon’s Well and to the Waste Gate. I looked at the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to the Well Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the animal I was on to pass. ¹⁵ So I went up in the night by the valley and looked at the wall. Then I went in through the Valley Gate again and returned. ¹⁶ The leaders did not know where I had gone or what I had done. And I had not yet told the Jews, the religious leaders, the rulers, the leaders, or the rest who did the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the problem we have. Jerusalem lies waste and its gates are destroyed by fire. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem again, that we may no longer be put to shame.” ¹⁸ I told them how the hand of my God had brought good to me, and the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us get up and build.” So they put their hands to the good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they made fun of us and hated us. They said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you turning against the king?” ²⁰ I answered them, “The God of heaven will make it go well for us. So we His servants will get up and build. But you have no share or right or anything to be remembered in Jerusalem.”

Work on the Wall

3 Then Eliashib the head religious leader and his brothers the religious leaders started to work and built the Sheep Gate. They set it apart as holy, and hung its doors. They set apart as holy the wall to the Tower of the Hundred, and to the Tower of Hananel. ² The men of Jericho built next to him. And Zaccur the son of Imri built next to them.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid the long wood pieces that hold up the gate and hung its doors with its iron pieces. ⁴ Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, did the needed work. Next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, did the needed work. And next to him Zadok the son of Baana did the needed work. ⁵ Next to him the Tekoites did the needed work, but their rulers would not do the work they were told to do by their lords.

⁶ Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah did the needed work on the Old Gate. They laid its long wood pieces and hung its doors with its iron pieces. ⁷ Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite did the needed work. They were the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the rule of the leader of the land on the other side of the River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, who worked with gold, did the needed work. Next to him Hananiah, one of the men who made perfume, did the needed work. They made Jerusalem like new as far as the Wide Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the leader of half of Jerusalem, did the needed work. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph did the needed work beside his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah did the needed work. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab did the needed work on another part and on the Tower of the Stoves. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the leader of half of Jerusalem, did the needed work, he and his daughters. ¹³ Hanun and the people of Zanoah did the needed work on the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its iron pieces. And they built the wall to the Waste Gate, as far as 500 long steps. ¹⁴ Malchijah the son of Rechab, the leader of Beth-haccherem did the needed work on the Waste Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its iron pieces. ¹⁵ Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the leader of Mizpah, did the needed work on the Well Gate. He built it, covered it, and hung its doors with its iron pieces. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the King’s Garden as far as the steps that go down from the City of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half of Beth-zur, did the needed work as far as David’s grave, and as far as the Man-made Pool and the House of the Powerful Men.

Levites Who Worked on the Wall

¹⁷ After him the Levites did the needed work, led by Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the leader of half of Keilah, did the needed work for his part of the city. ¹⁸ After him their brothers did the needed work, led by Bavvai the son of Henadad, leader of the other half of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, did the needed work on another part, in front of the hill up to the place where the things for battle were kept at the turn of the wall. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai did the needed work with much care on another part, from the turn of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the head religious leader. ²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz did the needed work on another part from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of the house.

Religious Leaders Who Worked on the Wall

²² After him the religious leaders, the men of the valley, did the needed work. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub did the needed work in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, did the needed work beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad did the needed work on another part, from the house of Azariah as far as the turn of the wall, and to the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai did the needed work in front of the turn of the wall and the tower which stands out from the upper house of the king, by the open space of the house soldiers. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh ²⁶ and the servants of the house of worship living in Ophel did the needed work as far as the front of the Water Gate on the east and the tall tower. ²⁷ After him the Tekoites did the needed work on another part in front of the tall tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ The religious leaders did the needed work above the Horse Gate. Each one worked in front of his house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer did the needed work in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, did the needed work. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, did the needed work on another part. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah did the needed work in front of his own room. ³¹ After him Malchijah, one of the men who worked with gold, did the needed work as far as the house of the servants of the Lord’s house and of the traders. He worked in front of the Master Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner. ³² The gold-workers and the traders did the needed work between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate.

Working and Watching at the Same Time

4 When Sanballat heard that we were building the wall again, he became very angry. He was filled with anger and he made fun of the Jews. ² He said to his brothers and the rich men of Samaria, “What are these weak Jews doing? Are they going to build things again for themselves? Will they give gifts on the altar in worship? Will they finish in a day? Will they get good stones for building from the dust, seeing they are burned?” ³ Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and said, “If a fox would jump on what they build, he would break their stone wall down!”

⁴ Hear, O our God, how we are hated! Return their shame on their own heads. Let them be taken as servants to a strange land. ⁵ Do not forgive their sin. Do not let their sin be covered from Your eyes. For they have made much fun of the builders. ⁶ But we built the wall, and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

⁷ When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the work of building the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the broken places began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ And all of them made plans together to come and fight against Jerusalem and cause trouble in it. ⁹ But we prayed to our God because of them. And we had men watching for them day and night. ¹⁰ So in Judah it was said, “Those who carry the loads are becoming weaker, and there is much dust. We are not able to work on the wall.” ¹¹ Those who hated us said, “They will not know it or see us until we are among them, kill them, and stop the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived by them came, they told us ten times, “They will come up against us from all the places where they live.” ¹³ So I put men in the lowest parts of the places behind the wall, in the open places. I put the people in place by their families with their swords, spears and bows. ¹⁴ When I saw their fear, I got up and said to the rulers and leaders and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord Who is great and honored with fear. And fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ When those who hated us heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought trouble to their plan, then all of us returned to the wall. Each one returned to his work. ¹⁶ From that day on, half of my servants did the work while half of them held the spears, battle-coverings, bows, and battle-clothes. And the captains stood behind the whole house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who were building the wall and those who carried loads did their work with one hand, and held something to fight with in the other hand. ¹⁸ Each builder wore his sword at his side as he built. The man who blew the horn stood beside me. ¹⁹ I said to the rulers, leaders, and the rest of the people, “There is very much work to do, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ In whatever place you hear the sound of the horn, gather together to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we did the work with half of them holding spears from sunrise until the stars came out. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so they may watch for us during the night and work during the day.” ²³ So none of us, I, my brothers, my servants, or the soldiers who followed me, took off our clothes. Each man kept something to fight with in his hand, even when he went to wash.

Help for Poor People

5 Now the people and their wives began to cry in a loud voice against their Jewish brothers. ² For some said, “We, our sons and our daughters are many. Let us get grain, that we may eat and live.” ³ And some said, “We are giving up our fields, our grape-vines and our houses, that we might get grain because of no food.” ⁴ Others said, “We have taken money from others to pay the king’s tax on our fields and our grape-vines, and we must pay back this money. ⁵ Our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers. Our children are like their children. Yet we are made to sell our sons and daughters to work for others. Some of our daughters have already been sold and taken away. We cannot do anything, because our fields and vines belong to others.”

⁶ I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. ⁷ I thought about it, and spoke sharp words to the rulers and leaders. I said to them, “You are making the people pay back more money than you give them to use!” So I gathered many people together against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “As we have been able, we have bought and freed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations. But you would even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were quiet and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to stop the nations who hate us from putting us to shame? ¹⁰ I, my brothers and my servants are giving them money and grain. Let us stop making them pay back more than they are given. ¹¹ Return to them this very day their fields, vines, olive trees, and houses. Also return to them one-hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine, and oil, that you have been making them pay.” ¹² Then they said, “We will give these back and will ask nothing from them. We will do just as you say.” So I called the religious leaders, and had them promise that they would keep their word. ¹³ I shook out the front of my clothing and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from all he has worked for, who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and made empty.” And all the people said, “Let it be so!” and praised the Lord. Then they did as they had promised.

Nehemiah Does Not Think of Himself

¹⁴ Also, in the twelve years after I was chosen to be their ruler in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, I and my brothers did not eat the food allowed to the ruler. ¹⁵ The rulers who were before me made the people work very hard. They took bread and wine from them, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their servants ruled over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. ¹⁶ I also worked on this wall myself, and we did not buy any land. And all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Also, there were 150 Jews and leaders at my table, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ¹⁸ One bull, six of the best sheep, and birds were made ready for me each day. All kinds of wine were brought in every ten days. Yet for all this I did not make them give me the food allowed to me as ruler, because the work was very hard for these people. ¹⁹ O my God, remember me for good for all I have done for these people.