Nehemiah 1-5

Contemporary English Version

Nehemiah's Prayer

1 I am Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and in this book I tell what I have done.

During the month of Chislev^[a] in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes^[b] ruled Persia, I was in his fortress city of Susa,^{[c] 2} when my brother Hanani came with some men from Judah. So I asked them about the Jews who had escaped^[d] from being captives in Babylonia. I also asked them about the city of Jerusalem.

³ They told me, “Those captives who have come back are having all kinds of troubles. They are terribly disgraced, Jerusalem's walls are broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

⁴ When I heard this, I sat down on the ground and cried. Then for several days, I mourned; I went without eating to show my sorrow, and I prayed:

⁵ Lord God of heaven, you are great and fearsome. And you faithfully keep your promises to everyone who loves you and obeys your commands. ⁶ I am your servant, so please have mercy on me and answer the prayer that I make day and night for these people of Israel who serve you. I, my family, and the rest of your people have sinned ⁷ by choosing to disobey you and the laws and teachings you gave to your servant Moses.

^8 (A) Please remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. ^9 (B) But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped.

¹⁰ Our Lord, I am praying for your servants—those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. ¹¹ Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. When I serve the king his wine today, make him pleased with me and let him do what I ask.

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

2 During the month of Nisan^[e] in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king, I served him his wine, as I had done before. But this was the first time I had ever looked depressed. ² So the king said, “Why do you look so sad? You're not sick. Something must be bothering you.”

Even though I was frightened, ^3 (C) I answered, “Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! I feel sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burned down.”

⁴ The king asked, “What do you want me to do?”

I prayed to the God who rules from heaven. ⁵ Then I told the king, “Sir, if it's all right with you, please send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

⁶ The queen was sitting beside the king when he asked me, “How long will it take, and when will you be back?” The king agreed to let me go, and I told him when I would return.

⁷ Then I asked, “Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah? ⁸ I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest.” God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked.

⁹ The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I traveled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors. ¹⁰ But when Sanballat from Horon^[f] and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.

Nehemiah Inspects the Wall of Jerusalem

¹¹ Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, ¹² I got up during the night and left my house. I took some men with me, without telling anyone what I thought God wanted me to do for the city. The only animal I took was the donkey I rode on. ¹³ I went through Valley Gate on the west, then south past Dragon Spring, before coming to Garbage Gate. As I rode along, I took a good look at the crumbled walls of the city and the gates that had been torn down and burned. ¹⁴ On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the trail became too narrow for my donkey. ¹⁵ So I went down to Kidron Valley and looked at the wall from there. Then before daylight I returned to the city through Valley Gate.

¹⁶ None of the city officials knew what I had in mind. And I had not even told any of the Jews—not the priests, the leaders, the officials, or any other Jews who would be helping in the work. ¹⁷ But when I got back, I said to them, “Jerusalem is truly in a mess! The gates have been torn down and burned, and everything is in ruins. We must rebuild the city wall so that we can again take pride in our city.”

¹⁸ Then I told them how kind God had been and what the king had said.

Immediately, they replied, “Let's start building now!” So they got everything ready.

¹⁹ When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about our plans, they started insulting us and saying, “Just look at you! Do you plan to rebuild the walls of the city and rebel against the king?”

²⁰ I answered, “We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history.”

Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem

3 These are the people who helped rebuild the wall and gates of Jerusalem:

The high priest Eliashib and the other priests rebuilt Sheep Gate and hung its doors. Then they dedicated Sheep Gate and the section of the wall as far as Hundred Tower and Hananel Tower.

² The people of Jericho rebuilt the next section of the wall, and Zaccur son of Imri rebuilt the section after that.

³ The family of Hassenaah built Fish Gate. They put the beams in place and hung the doors, then they added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks.

⁴ Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, completed the next section of the wall.

Meshullam, son of Berechiah and grandson of Meshezabel, rebuilt the next section, and Zadok son of Baana rebuilt the section beside that.

⁵ The next section was to be repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their town leaders refused to do the hard work they were assigned.^[g]

⁶ Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah restored Ancient Gate. They put the beams in place, hung the doors, and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks. ⁷ Melatiah from Gibeon, Jadon from Meronoth, and the men from Gibeon and Mizpah rebuilt the next section of the wall. This section reached as far as the house of the governor of West Euphrates Province.^[h]

⁸ Uzziel son of Harhaiah the goldsmith rebuilt the next section.

Hananiah the perfume maker rebuilt the section next after that, and it went as far as Broad Wall.

⁹ Rephaiah son of Hur ruled half of the Jerusalem District, and he rebuilt the next section of the wall.

¹⁰ The section after that was close to the home of Jedaiah son of Harumaph, and he rebuilt it.

Hattush son of Hashabneiah constructed the next section of the wall.

¹¹ Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath Moab rebuilt the section after that, and they also built Oven Tower.

¹² Shallum son of Hallohesh ruled the other half of the Jerusalem District, and he rebuilt the next section of the wall. Shallum's daughters also worked with him.

¹³ Hanun and the people who lived in the town of Zanoah rebuilt Valley Gate. They hung the doors and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks. They also rebuilt the wall for 440 meters, all the way to Garbage Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah son of Rechab ruled the district of Beth-Haccherem, and he rebuilt Garbage Gate. He hung the doors and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks.

¹⁵ Shallum^[i] son of Colhozeh ruled the district of Mizpah, and he rebuilt Fountain Gate. He put a cover over the gateway, then hung the doors and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks. He also rebuilt the wall at Shelah Pool. This section was next to the king's garden and went as far as the stairs leading down from David's City.

¹⁶ Nehemiah son of Azbuk ruled half of the district of Beth-Zur, and he rebuilt the next section of the wall. It went as far as the royal cemetery,^[j] the artificial pool, and the army barracks.

Levites Who Worked on the Wall

¹⁷ The Levites who worked on the next sections of the wall were Rehum son of Bani; Hashabiah, who ruled half of the district of Keilah and did this work for his district; ¹⁸ Binnui^[k] son of Henadad, who ruled the other half of the district of Keilah; ¹⁹ Ezer son of Jeshua, who ruled Mizpah, rebuilt the section of the wall that was in front of the armory and reached to the corner of the wall; ²⁰ Baruch son of Zabbai eagerly rebuilt the section of the wall that went all the way to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest; ²¹ Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, built up to the far end of Eliashib's house.

Priests Who Worked on the Wall

²² Here is a list of the priests who worked on the wall:

Priests from the region around Jerusalem rebuilt the next section of the wall.

²³ Benjamin and Hasshub rebuilt the wall in front of their own houses.

Azariah, who was the son of Maaseiah and the grandson of Ananiah, rebuilt the section in front of his house.

²⁴ Binnui son of Henadad rebuilt the section of the wall from Azariah's house to the corner of the wall.

²⁵ Palal son of Uzai rebuilt the next section, which began at the corner of the wall and the tower of the upper palace near the court of the guard.

Pedaiah son of Parosh rebuilt the next section of the wall. ²⁶ He stopped at a place near the Water Gate on the east and the tower guarding the temple. This was close to a section in the city called Ophel, where the temple workers lived.^[l]

Other Builders Who Worked on the Wall

²⁷ The men from Tekoa rebuilt the next section of the wall, and it was their second section.^[m] It started at a place across from the large tower that guarded the Temple, and it went all the way to the wall near Ophel.

²⁸ Some priests rebuilt the next section of the wall. They began working north of Horse Gate, and each one worked on a section in front of his own house.

²⁹ Zadok son of Immer rebuilt the wall in front of his house.

Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, who looked after the East Gate, rebuilt the section after that.

³⁰ Hananiah and Hanun^[n] rebuilt the next section, which was the second section^[o] for them.

Meshullam son of Berechiah rebuilt the next section, which happened to be in front of his house.

³¹ Malchijah, a goldsmith, rebuilt the next section, as far as the house used by the temple workers and merchants. This area was across from Gathering Gate, near the room on top of the wall at the northeast corner.

³² The goldsmiths and merchants rebuilt the last section of the wall, which went from the corner room all the way to Sheep Gate.

Nehemiah's Enemies

4 When Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, heard that we were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he became angry and started insulting our people. ² In front of his friends and the Samaritan army he said, “What is this feeble bunch of Jews trying to do? Are they going to rebuild the wall and offer sacrifices all in one day? Do they think they can make something out of this pile of scorched stones?”

³ Tobiah from Ammon was standing beside Sanballat and said, “Look at the wall they are building! Why, even a fox could knock over this pile of stones.”

⁴ But I prayed, “Our God, these people hate us and have wished horrible things for us. Please answer our prayers and make their insults fall on them! Let them be the ones to be dragged away as prisoners of war. ⁵ Don't forgive the mean and evil way they have insulted the builders.”

⁶ The people worked hard, and we built the walls of Jerusalem halfway up again. ⁷ But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from the city of Ashdod saw the walls going up and the holes being repaired. So they became angry ⁸ and decided to stir up trouble, and to fight against the people of Jerusalem. ⁹ But we kept on praying to our God, and we also stationed guards day and night.

¹⁰ Meanwhile, the people of Judah were singing a sorrowful song:

¹¹ Our enemies were saying, “Before those Jews know what has happened, we will sneak up and kill them and put an end to their work.”

¹² On at least ten different occasions, the Jews living near our enemies warned us against attacks from every side,^{[p] 13} and so I sent people to guard the wall at its lowest places and where there were still holes in it. I placed them according to families, and they stood guard with swords and spears and with bows and arrows. ¹⁴ Then I looked things over and told the leaders, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don't be afraid of your enemies! The Lord is great and fearsome. So think of him and fight for your relatives and children, your wives and homes!”

¹⁵ Our enemies found out that we knew about their plot against us, but God kept them from doing what they had planned. So we went back to work on the wall.

¹⁶ From then on, I let half of the young men work while the other half stood guard. They wore armor and had spears and shields, as well as bows and arrows. The leaders helped the workers ¹⁷ who were rebuilding the wall. Everyone who hauled building materials kept one hand free to carry a weapon. ¹⁸ Even the workers who were rebuilding the wall strapped on a sword. The worker who was to blow the signal trumpet stayed with me.

¹⁹ I told the people and their officials and leaders, “Our work is so spread out, that we are a long way from one another. ²⁰ If you hear the sound of the trumpet, come quickly and gather around me. Our God will help us fight.”

²¹ Every day from dawn to dark, half of the workers rebuilt the walls, while the rest stood guard with their spears.

²² I asked the men in charge and their workers to stay inside Jerusalem and stand guard at night. So they guarded the city at night and worked during the day. ²³ I even slept in my work clothes at night; my relatives, the workers, and the guards slept in theirs as well. And we always kept our weapons close by.^[q]

Nehemiah's Concern for the Poor

5 Some of the men and their wives complained about the Jews in power ² and said, “We have large families, and it takes a lot of grain merely to keep us alive.”

³ Others said, “During the famine we even had to mortgage our fields, vineyards, and homes to them in order to buy grain.”

⁴ Then others said, “We had to borrow money from those in power to pay the government tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ We are Jews just as they are, and our children are as good as theirs. But we still have to sell our children as slaves, and some of our daughters have already been raped. We are completely helpless; our fields and vineyards have even been taken from us.”

⁶ When I heard their complaints and their charges, I became very angry. ^7 (D) So I thought it over and said to the leaders and officials, “How can you charge your own people interest?”

Then I called a public meeting and accused the leaders ⁸ by saying, “We have tried to buy back all of our people who were sold into exile. But here you are, selling more of them for us to buy back!” The officials and leaders did not say a word, because they knew this was true.

⁹ I continued, “What you have done is wrong! We must honor our God by the way we live, so the Gentiles can't find fault with us. ¹⁰ My relatives, my friends, and I are also lending money and grain, but we must no longer demand payment in return. ¹¹ Now give back the fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and houses you have taken and also the interest you have been paid.”

¹² The leaders answered, “We will do whatever you say and return their property, without asking to be repaid.”

So I made the leaders promise in front of the priests to give back the property. ¹³ Then I emptied my pockets and said, “If you don't keep your promise, that's what God will do to you. He will empty out everything you own, even taking away your houses.”

The people answered, “We will keep our promise.” Then they praised the Lord and did as they had promised.

Nehemiah Is Generous

¹⁴ I was governor of Judah from the twentieth year that Artaxerxes^[r] was king until the thirty-second year. And during these entire twelve years, my relatives and I refused to accept the food that I was allowed. ¹⁵ Each governor before me had been a burden to the people by making them pay for his food and wine and by demanding forty silver coins a day. Even their officials had been a burden to the people. But I respected God, and I didn't think it was right to be so hard on them. ¹⁶ I spent all my time getting the wall rebuilt and did not buy any property. Everyone working for me did the same thing. ¹⁷ I usually fed 150 of our own Jewish people and their leaders, as well as foreign visitors from surrounding lands. ¹⁸ Each day one ox, six of the best sheep, and lots of chickens were prepared. Then every ten days, a large supply of wine was brought in. I knew what a heavy burden this would have been for the people, and so I did not ask for my food allowance as governor.

¹⁹ I pray that God will bless me for everything I have done for my people.