Nehemiah Prays for His People

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the ^(B)twentieth year, as I was in ^(C)Shushan^[a] the ^[b]citadel, ² that ^(D)Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the ^(E)province are there in great distress and ^(F)reproach. ^(G)The wall of Jerusalem ^(H)is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

⁴ So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

⁵ And I said: “I pray, ^(I)Lord God of heaven, O great and ^(J)awesome God, ^(K)You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love ^[c]You and observe ^[d]Your commandments, ⁶ please let Your ear be attentive and ^(L)Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and ^(M)confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. ^7 (N)We have acted very corruptly against You, and have ^(O)not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ^(P)‘If you ^[e]are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; ^9 (Q)but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, ^(R)though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ ^10 (S)Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, I pray, please ^(T)let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who ^(U)desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

For I was the king’s ^(V)cupbearer.

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

2 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of ^(W)King ^[f]Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that ^(X)I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. ² Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but ^(Y)sorrow of heart.”

So I became ^[g]dreadfully afraid, ³ and said to the king, ^(Z)“May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when ^(AA)the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with ^(AB)fire?”

⁴ Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”

So I ^(AC)prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him ^(AD)a time.

⁷ Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the ^(AE)governors of the region beyond ^[h]the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the ^[i]citadel which pertains ^(AF)to the ^[j]temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me ^(AG)according to the good hand of my God upon me.

⁹ Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ When ^(AH)Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ^[k]official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem

¹¹ So I ^(AI)came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. ¹³ And I went out by night ^(AJ)through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the ^[l]Refuse Gate, and ^[m]viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were ^(AK)broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to the ^(AL)Fountain Gate and to the ^(AM)King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. ¹⁵ So I went up in the night by the ^(AN)valley,^[n] and ^[o]viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. ¹⁶ And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies ^[p]waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be ^(AO)a reproach.” ¹⁸ And I told them of ^(AP)the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.

So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they ^(AQ)set^[q] their hands to this good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^(AR)Will you rebel against the king?”

²⁰ So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, ^(AS)but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Blessed Unity of the People of God

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Praising the Lord in His House at Night

A Song of Ascents.

The Plot to Kill Jesus^(A)

22 Now ^(B)the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. ² And ^(C)the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

^3 (D)Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the ^(E)twelve. ⁴ So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were glad, and ^(F)agreed to give him money. ⁶ So he promised and sought opportunity to ^(G)betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Jesus and His Disciples Prepare the Passover

^7 (H)Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be ^[a]killed. ⁸ And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

⁹ So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

¹⁰ And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. ¹¹ Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ ¹² Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”

¹³ So they went and ^(I)found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

^14 (J)When the hour had come, He sat down, and the ^[b]twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it ^(K)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for ^(L)I say to you, ^[c]I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

^19 (M)And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My ^(N)body which is given for you; ^(O)do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ^(P)“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. ^21 (Q)But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. ^22 (R)And truly the Son of Man goes ^(S)as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

^23 (T)Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

The Disciples Argue About Greatness

^24 (U)Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. ^25 (V)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ^26 (W)But not so among you; on the contrary, ^(X)he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. ^27 (Y)For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet ^(Z)I am among you as the One who serves.

²⁸ “But you are those who have continued with Me in ^(AA)My trials. ²⁹ And ^(AB)I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, ³⁰ that ^(AC)you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, ^(AD)and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(AE)

^31 [d]And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, ^(AF)Satan has asked for you, that he may ^(AG)sift you as wheat. ³² But ^(AH)I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, ^(AI)strengthen your brethren.”

³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

^34 (AJ)Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Supplies for the Road

^35 (AK)And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?”

So they said, “Nothing.”

³⁶ Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. ³⁷ For I say to you that this which is written must still be ^[e]accomplished in Me: ^(AL)‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

³⁸ So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

The Prayer in the Garden^(AM)

^39 (AN)Coming out, ^(AO)He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ^40 (AP)When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

^41 (AQ)And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless ^(AR)not My will, but Yours, be done.” ^43 [f]Then ^(AS)an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ^44 (AT)And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵ When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Why ^(AU)do you sleep? Rise and ^(AV)pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane^(AW)

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, ^(AX)behold, a multitude; and he who was called ^(AY)Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a ^(AZ)kiss?”

⁴⁹ When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And ^(BA)one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.

^52 (BB)Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a ^(BC)robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ When I was with you daily in the ^(BD)temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your ^(BE)hour, and the power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps Bitterly^(BF)

^54 (BG)Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. ^(BH)But Peter followed at a distance. ^55 (BI)Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶ And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”

⁵⁷ But he denied ^[g]Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”

^58 (BJ)And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”

But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

^59 (BK)Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a ^(BL)Galilean.”

⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”

Immediately, while he was still speaking, ^[h]the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then ^(BM)Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ^(BN)“Before the rooster ^[i]crows, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Mocked and Beaten^(BO)

^63 (BP)Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and ^(BQ)beat Him. ^64 [j]And having blindfolded Him, they ^(BR)struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?” ⁶⁵ And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin^(BS)

^66 (BT)As soon as it was day, ^(BU)the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, ^67 (BV)“If You are the Christ, tell us.”

But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will ^(BW)by no means believe. ⁶⁸ And if I ^[k]also ask you, you will by no means answer ^[l]Me or let Me go. ^69 (BX)Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰ Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?”

So He said to them, ^(BY)“You rightly say that I am.”

^71 (BZ)And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”