Nehemiah 2
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, when the wine was brought in for him, I picked it up and gave it to the king. I had never before appeared before him looking sad,
And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine [was] before him: and I took up the wine, and gave [it] to the king. Now I had not [before] been sad in his presence.
2 so the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad, even though you don't seem to sick? You must be really upset.” I was absolutely terrified,
Wherefore the king said to me, Why [is] thy countenance sad, seeing thou [art] not sick? this [is] nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very greatly afraid,
3 but I replied to the king, “Long live the king live! How can I help being sad? The city where my forefathers are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burned down.”
And said to the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, [lieth] waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?
4 “So what do you want?” the king asked me. I prayed to the God of heaven, and answered the king,
Then the king said to me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 “If it pleases Your Majesty, and if you are happy with me, I request you send me to Judah, to the city where my forefathers are buried, so I can rebuild it.”
And I said to the king, If it should please the king, and if thy servant hath found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it.
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you come back?” The king agreed to send me, and I told him how long I would be gone.
And the king said to me, (the queen also sitting by him, ) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 I also asked him, “If it pleases Your Majesty, let letters be provided to give to the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will allow me to pass safely until I reach Judah.
Moreover, I said to the king, If it should please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah:
8 May I also have a letter for Asaph, warden of the king's forest, so he can give me timber to make beams for the gates of Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for the house I will live in.” Because my gracious God was upon me, the king gave me what I asked.
And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which [appertained] to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I went to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king also sent a military escort of cavalry with me.
Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were upset. For them this was a total disaster—that someone had arrived to help out the Israelites.
When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
11 I arrived in Jerusalem and rested for three days.
So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 Then I got up during the night and went out with just a few men. I didn't explain to anyone what my God had put in my head to do for Jerusalem. I only took one horse to ride.
And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I [any] man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither [was there any] beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13 So I rode in the dark through the Valley Gate toward the Spring of the Serpent and the Refuse Gate, and I inspected Jerusalem's walls that had been knocked over and the gates that had been burned down.
And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon-well, and to the dung-port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and their gates were consumed with fire.
14 Then I continued on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but we couldn't get through as there wasn't enough room to pass.
Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but [there was] no place for the beast [that was] under me to pass.
15 So I went up along the valley in the dark and inspected the wall. Then I returned, going back through the Valley Gate.
Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and [so] returned.
16 Those in charge of the city had no idea where I had gone or what I was doing, because I hadn't yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, or officials or any others about the construction plans.
And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told [it] to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then I said to them, “Look at the trouble we're in! Jerusalem is a heap of rubble, and its gates have been burned down. Come on, let's rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we won't be so ashamed any more.”
Then said I to them, Ye see the distress that we [are] in, how Jerusalem [lieth] waste, and its gates are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may be no more a reproach.
18 Then I explained to them how good God had been to me, and what the king had told me. “Let's get on with the rebuilding,” they replied, and they set to work enthusiastically.
Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise and build. So they strengthened their hands for [this] good [work].
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab got to hear about it, they mocked and taunted us, asking, “What are you up to? Are you rebelling against the king?”
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard [it], they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What [is] this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 But I replied, telling them, “The God of heaven, he will make sure we're successful. We, his servants, will begin rebuilding, but Jerusalem doesn't belong to you, and you have no authority over it or claim to it.”
Then I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
