The Daily Audio Bible

Distressing News

1 These are the words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah:

During the month of Chislev, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, while I was in the fortress at Susa, ² one of my brothers, Hanani, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had survived captivity and about Jerusalem. ³ They told me, “Those who survived captivity are in the province. They are enduring serious troubles and being insulted. The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah’s Prayer

⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and cried. I mourned for days. I continued to fast and pray to the God of heaven. ⁵ I said,

“Lord God of heaven, great and awe-inspiring God, you faithfully keep your promise ^[a] and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. ⁶ Open your eyes, and pay close attention with your ears to what I, your servant, am praying. I am praying to you day and night about your servants the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against you as well as the sins that my father’s family and I have committed. ⁷ We have done you a great wrong. We haven’t obeyed the commandments, laws, or regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. ⁸ Please remember what you told us through your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. ⁹ But if you return to me and continue to obey my commandments, though your people may be driven to the most distant point on the horizon, I will come and get you from there and bring you to the place where I chose to put my name.’ ¹⁰ These are your servants and your people whom you have saved by your great power and your strong hand. ¹¹ Lord, please pay attention to my prayer and to the prayers of all your other servants who want to worship your name. Please give me success today and make this man, King Artaxerxes, show me compassion.”

I was cupbearer ^[b] to the king at this time.

The King Shows Compassion to Nehemiah

2 In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before.

² The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” (I was really afraid).

³ “May the king live forever!” I said to the king. “Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?”

⁴ “What do you want?” the king asked me.

So I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then, while the queen was sitting beside him, the king asked me, “How long will you be gone, and when will you come back?” When I gave him a specific date, he was willing to let me go.

⁷ I also asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, let me have letters addressed to the governors ⌞of the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River. In the letters tell them to grant me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. ⁸ Also, let me have a letter addressed to Asaph, the supervisor of Your Majesty’s forest. In the letter order him to give me wood for the gates of the fortress near the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I’ll move into.” (The king let me have the letters, because God was guiding me.)

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

⁹ I went to the governors ⌞of the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. (The king had sent army officers and cavalry to be with me.) ¹⁰ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were very upset that someone had come to give the people of Israel so much assistance.

Nehemiah Surveys the Damage to Jerusalem’s Walls

¹¹ I went to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² During the night I went out with a few men without telling anyone what my God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I had was the one I was riding. ¹³ I went through Valley Gate that night toward Snake Fountain and Dung Gate and examined the places where the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and where its gates had been burned. ¹⁴ Passing through Fountain Gate, I arrived at King’s Pool, but the animal I was riding couldn’t get through. ¹⁵ So I went through the valley that night and examined the wall. Then I turned back, entered Valley Gate, and returned.

¹⁶ The officials didn’t know where I had gone or what I had done. I hadn’t yet told the Jews, the priests, the leaders, the other officials, or any of the rest who would be doing the work. ¹⁷ Then I told them, “You see the trouble we’re in. Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned down. Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be insulted.” ¹⁸ Then I told them that my God had been guiding me and what the king had told me.

They replied, “Let’s begin to rebuild.” So they encouraged one another to begin this God-pleasing work.

¹⁹ When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They asked, “What are you doing? Are you going to rebel against the king?”

²⁰ “The God of heaven will give us success,” I answered them. “We, his servants, are going to rebuild. You have no property or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”

A List of the People Rebuilding Jerusalem’s Walls

3 The chief priest Eliashib and his relatives, the priests, started by rebuilding Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place. They rebuilt as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and then as far as the Tower of Hananel. ² The men from Jericho were rebuilding next to Eliashib. Zaccur, son of Imri, was next to them. ³ The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, locks, and bars in place. ⁴ Next to them Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to them Meshullam, son of Berechiah and grandson of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok, son of Baana, made repairs. ⁵ Next to them the men from Tekoa made repairs. However, the nobles wouldn’t lower themselves to work under supervisors.

⁶ Joiada, Paseah’s son, and Meshullam, Besodeiah’s son, made repairs on Old Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, locks, and bars in place. ⁷ Next to them Melatiah from Gibeon and Jadon from Meronoth, with men from Gibeon and Mizpah, made repairs on the wall. They did this under the authority of the governor ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel, Harhaiah’s son, a goldsmith, made repairs. Next to him Hananiah, a perfume maker, made repairs. They left out part of Jerusalem as far as Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah, Hur’s son, an official in charge of half a district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah, Harumaph’s son, made repairs across from his own home. Next to them Hattush, Hashabneiah’s son, made repairs. ¹¹ Malchiah, Harim’s son, and Hasshub, Pahath Moab’s son, made repairs on a section that included the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to them Shallum, Hallohesh’s son, an official in charge of half a district of Jerusalem, made repairs with the help of his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the people of Zanoah repaired Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, locks, and bars in place, and they repaired 1,500 feet of the wall, as far as Dung Gate. ¹⁴ Dung Gate itself was repaired by Malchiah, Rechab’s son, the official in charge of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and set its doors, locks, and bars in place.

Advice about Marriage

7 Now, concerning the things that you wrote about: It’s good for men not to get married. ² But in order to avoid sexual sins, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

³ Husbands and wives should satisfy each other’s ⌞sexual⌟ needs. ⁴ A wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

⁵ Don’t withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so for a set time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should get back together so that Satan doesn’t use your lack of self-control to tempt you. ⁶ What I have just said is not meant as a command but as a suggestion. ⁷ I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from God, and these gifts vary from person to person.

⁸ I say to those who are not married, especially to widows: It is good for you to stay single like me. ⁹ However, if you cannot control your desires, you should get married. It is better for you to marry than to burn ⌞with sexual desire⌟.

¹⁰ I pass this command along (not really I, but the Lord): A wife shouldn’t leave her husband. ¹¹ If she does, she should stay single or make up with her husband. Likewise, a husband should not divorce his wife.

¹² I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If any Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her. ¹³ If any Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to live with her, she should not divorce her husband. ¹⁴ Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and an unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable ⌞to God⌟, but now they are acceptable to him. ¹⁵ But if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound ⌞by a marriage vow⌟. God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶ How do you as a wife know whether you will save your husband? How do you as a husband know whether you will save your wife?

¹⁷ Everyone should live the life that the Lord gave him when God called him. This is the guideline I use in every church.

¹⁸ Any man who was already circumcised when he was called to be a Christian shouldn’t undo his circumcision. Any man who was uncircumcised when he was called to be a Christian shouldn’t get circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing, and the lack of it is nothing. But keeping what God commands is everything. ²⁰ All people should stay as they were when they were called. ²¹ Were you a slave when you were called? That shouldn’t bother you. However, if you have a chance to become free, take it. ²² If the Lord called you when you were a slave, you are the Lord’s free person. In the same way, if you were free when you were called, you are Christ’s slave. ²³ You were bought for a price. Don’t become anyone’s slaves. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, you should remain in whatever circumstances you were in when God called you. God is with you in those circumstances.