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.

¹⁵ Shallun, Col Hozeh’s son, the official in charge of the district of Mizpah, repaired Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, put a roof over it, and set its doors, locks, and bars in place. He also made repairs on the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the King’s Garden as far as the stairs going down from the City of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah, Azbuk’s son, the official in charge of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs all the way to a point across from the tombs of David as far as the pool and the soldiers’ barracks. ¹⁷ After him the Levites, including Rehum (Bani’s son), made repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, the official in charge of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their relatives made repairs. This included Binnui, Henadad’s son, the official in charge of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer, Jeshua’s son, the official in charge of Mizpah, repaired a section across from the ascent to the Armory at the Angle. ²⁰ After him Baruch, Zabbai’s son,^[c] made repairs on a section from the Angle to the door of the house of the chief priest Eliashib. ²¹ After him Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, made repairs on a section from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of Eliashib’s house. ²² After him the priests who lived in that area made repairs. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs across from their own homes. After them Azariah, son of Maaseiah and grandson of Ananiah, made repairs next to his home. ²⁴ After him Binnui, Henadad’s son, made repairs on a section from Azariah’s home to the Angle and to the corner of the wall. ²⁵ Palal, Uzai’s son, made repairs across from the Angle and the upper tower that projects from the king’s palace to the guards’ courtyard. After him Pedaiah, Parosh’s son, ²⁶ and the temple servants who were living on the Ophel made repairs on the wall as far as a point across from Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him the men from Tekoa repaired a section across from the large projecting tower as far as the Wall of the Ophel.

²⁸ Above Horse Gate the priests made repairs. Each priest made repairs across from his own home. ²⁹ After them Zadok, Immer’s son, made repairs across from his own home. After him Shemaiah, Shecaniah’s son, the guard at East Gate, made repairs. ³⁰ After him Hananiah, Shelemiah’s son, and Hanun, Zalaph’s sixth son, repaired another section. After him Meshullam, Berechiah’s son, made repairs across from his living quarters. ³¹ After him Malchiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the building that housed the temple servants and merchants across from Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room at the corner. ³² The goldsmiths and merchants made repairs between the upper room at the corner and Sheep Gate.

Sanballat Ridicules the Jews

4 ^[d]When Sanballat heard we were rebuilding the wall, he became enraged and made fun of the Jews. ² In front of his allies and the army from Samaria, he said, “What do these miserable Jews think they’re doing? Can they rebuild it by themselves? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Will they get the stones out of the rubbish heaps, burned as these stones are, and give them new strength?”

³ Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside Sanballat, said, “Even a fox would make their stone wall collapse if it walked on top of what they’re building!”

Nehemiah Overcomes Opposition from Sanballat

⁴ ⌞Nehemiah prayed,⌟ “Our God, hear us. We are despised. Turn their insults back on them, and let them be robbed in the land where they are prisoners. ⁵ Don’t ignore their guilt, and don’t let their sins disappear from your records. They have insulted you in front of these builders.”

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall, which was rebuilt to about half its ⌞original⌟ height. The people worked with determination.

⁷ When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod heard that the repair work on the walls of Jerusalem was making progress and that the gaps were being filled in, they became furious. ⁸ All of them plotted to attack Jerusalem to create confusion. ⁹ But we prayed to our God and set guards to protect us day and night.

¹⁰ Then the people of Judah said, “The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can’t continue to rebuild the wall.”

¹¹ Our enemies said, “Before they know what is happening or see a thing, we will be right in the middle of them. We’ll kill them and bring the work to an end.”

¹² Jews who were living near our enemies warned us ten times that our enemies would attack us from every direction.

¹³ That is why I positioned people by their families behind the wall where it was lowest and most exposed. The people were armed with swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ I looked them over and proceeded to tell the nobles, the leaders, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and awe-inspiring the Lord is. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

¹⁵ When our enemies heard that we knew about their plots and that God had prevented their plans from being successful, we all went back to the work on the wall. Each person performed his own job. ¹⁶ From that day on, half of my men worked on the wall, and the other half were wearing body armor and holding spears, shields, and bows. The leaders stood behind all the Judeans ¹⁷ who were rebuilding the wall. The workers who were carrying loads did the work with one hand and held their weapons with the other, ¹⁸ and each builder had his sword fastened to his side. The man who was supposed to sound the trumpet alarm was with me. ¹⁹ I told the nobles, the leaders, and the rest of the people, “So much work has to be done in different places that we are widely separated from one another on the wall. ²⁰ When you hear the trumpet, assemble around me. Our God will fight for us!”

²¹ So we continued to work. Half of us held spears from early dawn until the stars came out. ²² At that time I told the people, “Every man and his servant should stay overnight in Jerusalem so that we can set a guard at night and work during the day.” ²³ My brothers, my servants, and the guards assigned to me never changed their clothes. Neither did I. We each kept our weapons at hand.

The Poor Complain about Their Rich Relatives

5 Then some of the people, the men and their wives, complained publicly about their Jewish relatives. ² Some of them said, “We have large families! We need some grain ⌞if we are going⌟ to eat and stay alive.” ³ Others said, “We’ve had to mortgage our fields, our vineyards, and our homes in order to get some grain because of this famine.” ⁴ Others said, “We’ve had to borrow money to pay the king’s taxes on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ We have the same flesh and blood as our relatives. Our children are just like theirs. Yet, we have to force our sons and daughters to become slaves. Some of our daughters have already become slaves. But we can’t do anything else when our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

Nehemiah Stops the Rich from Taking Advantage of the Poor

⁶ I became furious when I heard their complaint and what they had to say. ⁷ After thinking it over, I confronted the nobles and the leaders. I told them, “You are charging interest on loans made to your own relatives.” I arranged for a large meeting to deal with them. ⁸ Then I told them, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish relatives who had been sold to other nations. Now you are selling your Jewish relatives so that we have to buy them back again!” They were unable to say anything. ⁹ I added, “What you’re doing is wrong. Shouldn’t you live in the fear of our God to keep our enemies from ridiculing us? ¹⁰ My brothers, my servants, and I are lending money and grain to the poor. But we must stop charging them interest. ¹¹ You must return their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their homes today. Also, you must return the interest on the money, grain, new wine, and olive oil you’ve been charging them.”

¹² They responded, “We’ll return it and not try to get it from them ⌞again⌟. We’ll do what you say.” Then I called the priests and made them swear to do what they promised. ¹³ I brushed off my clothes and said, “In the same way, may God brush off from home and work everyone who refuses to keep this promise. In the same way, may everyone be brushed off and left with nothing.” Then the whole congregation said amen and praised the Lord. The people did what they had promised.

Nehemiah Never Takes What Is Rightfully His as Governor

¹⁴ During the 12 years that I was governor of Judah, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign to the thirty-second year of his reign, my brothers and I never ate any food that was paid for by the governor’s food allowance. ¹⁵ Those who were governors before me had made life difficult for the people by taking from them food and wine plus one pound of silver. Even the governors’ servants took advantage of their power over the people. But I didn’t do that, because I feared God. ¹⁶ Instead, I put my best effort into the work on this wall, and we bought no land. All my men gathered here for work. ¹⁷ I fed 150 Jewish leaders and their people who came to us from the surrounding nations. ¹⁸ Preparing one ox and six choice sheep was necessary every day. Poultry was prepared for me. Once every ten days a supply of wine was ordered. Yet, in spite of all this, I never demanded anything from the governor’s food allowance, because these people were already carrying a heavy load.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

¹⁹ Remember me, my God. Consider everything that I have done for these people.