Nehemiah 2

¹ In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, wine was before him. I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before.

² The king said to me, “Why does your face look sad, when you are not sick? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very afraid.

³ I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad, when the city where the tombs of my ancestors are lies in ruins and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

⁴ The king said to me, “What are you asking for?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven.

⁵ I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”

⁶ The king, with the queen sitting beside him, said to me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” It pleased the king to send me, and I set a time for him.

⁷ I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let me have letters for the governors of the province Beyond the River, so they will let me pass through until I reach Judah,

⁸ and a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel belonging to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house where I will stay.” The king granted my requests, because the good hand of my God was upon me.

⁹ I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. The king had sent army officers and horsemen with me.

¹⁰ Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, and they were greatly displeased that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.

¹¹ I came to Jerusalem and stayed there three days.

¹² I set out at night, with a few men accompanying me, and told no one what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. I had no animal with me except the one I was riding.

¹³ At night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Dragon Spring and the Dung Gate, and inspected the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been consumed by fire.

¹⁴ I went on to the Spring Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.

¹⁵ I went up the valley at night, inspecting the wall, then turned back, entered through the Valley Gate, and returned.

¹⁶ The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. Until then I had told nothing to the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who were doing the work.

¹⁷ I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so we will no longer be disgraced.”

¹⁸ I told them how the hand of my God had been good to me, and also what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let’s get up and build!” And they strengthened their hands for the good work.

¹⁹ Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it. They mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

²⁰ I answered them, “The God of heaven is the one who will make us prosper. We, his servants, will get up and build. But you have no share, no right, and no claim in Jerusalem.”

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