Nehemiah, Chapter 2:

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Verses from Nehemiah, Chapter 2 of the book of Nehemiah in the Bible.

Nehemiah - Old Testament — Nehemiah – Old Testament

Artaxerxes sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

1. In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of the reign of King Artaxerxes, while I was pouring the wine, I brought it to the king. I had never before been sad in his presence;
2. Then the king asked me: “Why are you sad if you are not sick? This can only be heartbreak!” With great fear,
3. I answered the king: “May the king live forever! How could my face not be sad, when the city in which the tombs of my fathers are located is in ruins, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
4. Then the king said to me, “What do you want?” So I prayed to the God of heaven
5. and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if his servant finds favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, so that I can rebuild it.”
6. Then, as the queen sat by him, the king asked me: “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” Pleasing the king, I set a deadline for him,
7. and said to him, “If it pleases the king, let me be given letters to the governors beyond the Euphrates, so that they may allow me to pass through until I reach Judah.
8. And also a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to provide me with wood to cover the doors of the palace of the house, for the wall of the city and for the house in which I will live.” God's favor was upon me, and so the king granted my requests.
9. Then I went to the governors beyond the Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had sent army officers and knights with me.
10. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were deeply troubled, for someone cared about the well-being of the children of Israel.

Nehemiah inspects the walls of Jerusalem

11. Arriving at Jerusalem, after staying there three days,
12. I got up during the night with a few men, because I did not reveal to anyone what God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me except the one I was riding.
13. I went out through the valley gate during the night toward the Dragon's Fountain and the Dung Gate, and I examined the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and its gates, which had been consumed by fire.
14. Then I continued to the Fountain gate and to the king's pool, but there was no place where the animal that was with me could pass.
15. So I went around the valley during the night, examining the wall, and entered again through the valley gate.
16. The officers did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because until that moment I had not revealed what God had placed in my heart. I had not said anything to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the officials, nor to anyone who might carry out the work.
17. Then he said to them: “Look at the disastrous situation in which we find ourselves! Jerusalem is desolate, and its gates are consumed by fire. Come! Let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be an object of reproach.”
18. Then I told them how the kind hand of God had been with me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build!” And they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What are you doing? Are they revolting against the king?”
20. Then I answered them, “It is the God of heaven who will give us success. We, your servants, will arise and build, but you have no rights, nor any memory in Jerusalem.”