The Daily Audio Bible

Loss of Jerusalem

1 These are the words of Nehemiah, Hacaliah’s son.

In the month of Kislev,^[a] in the twentieth year,^[b] while I was in the fortress city of Susa, ² Hanani, one of my brothers, came with some other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

³ They told me, “Those in the province who survived the captivity are in great trouble and shame! The wall around Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire!”

Confession

⁴ When I heard this news, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵ I said:

Cupbearer’s plea

At that time, I was a cupbearer to the king. 2 ¹ In the month of Nisan,^[d] in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, the king was about to be served wine. I took the wine and gave it to the king. Since I had never seemed sad in his presence, ² the king asked me, “Why do you seem sad? Since you aren’t sick, you must have a broken heart!”

I was very afraid ³ and replied, “May the king live forever! Why shouldn’t I seem sad when the city, the place of my family’s graves, is in ruins and its gates destroyed by fire?”

⁴ The king asked, “What is it that you need?”

I prayed to the God of heaven ⁵ and replied, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, please send me to Judah, to the city of my family’s graves so that I may rebuild it.”

⁶ With the queen sitting beside him, the king asked me, “How long will you be away and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I told him how long I would be gone.

⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given me addressed to the governors of the province Beyond the River to allow me to travel to Judah. ⁸ May the king also issue a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, directing him to supply me with timber for the beams of the temple fortress gates, for the city wall, and for the house in which I will live.”

The king gave me what I asked, for the gracious power of my God was with me.

Inspecting Jerusalem

⁹ So I went to the governors of the province^[e] Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. The king had sent officers of the army and cavalry with me.

¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, they were very angry that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

¹¹ When I reached Jerusalem and had been there for three days, ¹² I set out at night, taking only a few people with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God was prompting me to do for Jerusalem, and the only animal I took was the one I rode. ¹³ I went out by night through the Valley Gate past the Dragon’s Spring to the Dung Gate so that I could inspect the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down, as well as its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.

¹⁴ Then I went on to the Spring Gate and to the King’s Pool. Since there was no room for the animal on which I was riding to pass, ¹⁵ I went up by way of the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I turned back and returned by entering through the Valley Gate.

Let’s rebuild

¹⁶ The officials didn’t know where I had gone or what I was doing. I hadn’t yet told the Jews, the priests, the officials, the officers, or the rest who were to do the work. ¹⁷ So I said to them, “You see the trouble that we’re in: Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are destroyed by fire! Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we won’t continue to be in disgrace.” ¹⁸ I told them that my God had taken care of me, and also told them what the king had said to me.

“Let’s start rebuilding!” they said, and they eagerly began the work.^[f]

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and made fun of us. “What are you doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

²⁰ “The God of heaven will give us success!” I replied. “As God’s servants, we will start building. But you will have no share, right, or claim in Jerusalem.”

Rebuilding the gates and walls

3 Then Eliashib the high priest set to work with his fellow priests and built^[g] the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set up its doors, then dedicated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel.

² The people of Jericho built next to them, and Zaccur, Imri’s son, built next to them. ³ The children of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and set up its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁴ Next to them Meremoth, Uriah’s son and Hakkoz’s grandson, made repairs. Meshullam, Berechiah’s son and Meshezabel’s grandson, made repairs next to them, and Zadok, Baana’s son, made repairs next to them. ⁵ Next to them the people from Tekoa made repairs, but their officials wouldn’t help with the work^[h] of their supervisors.^[i]

⁶ Joiada, Paseah’s son, and Meshullam, Besodeiah’s son, repaired the Mishneh Gate;^[j] they laid its beams and set up its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁷ Next to them repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and^[k] the people of Gibeon and of Mizpah, who were ruled by the governor of the province Beyond the River.

⁸ Uzziel, Harhaiah’s son, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs next to them; and Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs next to him. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah, Hur’s son, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah, Harumaph’s son, made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush, Hashabneiah’s son, made repairs next to him.

¹¹ Malchijah, Harim’s son, and Hasshub, Pahath-moab’s son, repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to them Shallum, Hallohesh’s son, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, along with his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the people of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate; they built it and set up its doors, bolts, and bars. They also repaired fifteen hundred feet of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malchiah, Rechab’s son, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and set up its doors, bolts, and bars.

Marriage and celibacy

7 Now, about what you wrote: “It’s good for a man not to have sex with a woman.” ² Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband because of sexual immorality. ³ The husband should meet his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should do the same for her husband. ⁴ The wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ⁵ Don’t refuse to meet each other’s needs unless you both agree for a short period of time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come back together again so that Satan might not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ I’m saying this to give you permission; it’s not a command. ⁷ I wish all people were like me, but each has a particular gift from God: one has this gift, and another has that one.

⁸ I’m telling those who are single and widows that it’s good for them to stay single like me. ⁹ But if they can’t control themselves, they should get married, because it’s better to marry than to burn with passion. ¹⁰ I’m passing on the Lord’s command to those who are married: A wife shouldn’t leave her husband, ¹¹ but if she does leave him, then she should stay single or be reconciled to her husband. And a man shouldn’t divorce his wife.

¹² I’m telling everyone else (the Lord didn’t say this specifically): If a believer has a wife who doesn’t believe, and she agrees to live with him, then he shouldn’t divorce her. ¹³ If a woman has a husband who doesn’t believe and he agrees to live with her, then she shouldn’t divorce him. ¹⁴ The husband who doesn’t believe belongs to God because of his wife, and the wife who doesn’t believe belongs to God because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be contaminated by the world, but now they are spiritually set apart. ¹⁵ But if a spouse who doesn’t believe chooses to leave, then let them leave. The brother or sister isn’t tied down in these circumstances. God has called you to peace. ¹⁶ How do you know as a wife if you will save your husband? Or how do you know as a husband if you will save your wife?

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live the kind of life that the Lord assigned when he called each one. This is what I teach in all the churches. ¹⁸ If someone was circumcised when called, he shouldn’t try to reverse it. If someone wasn’t circumcised when he was called, he shouldn’t be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing; not being circumcised is nothing. What matters is keeping God’s commandments. ²⁰ Each person should stay in the situation they were in when they were called. ²¹ If you were a slave when you were called, don’t let it bother you. But if you are actually able to be free, take advantage of the opportunity. ²² Anyone who was a slave when they were called by the Lord has the status of being the Lord’s free person. In the same way, anyone who was a free person when they were called is Christ’s slave. ²³ You were bought and paid for. Don’t become slaves of people. ²⁴ So then, brothers and sisters, each of you should stay with God in the situation you were in when you were called.