Nehemiah 1-3

New International Reader's Version

Nehemiah Prays to the Lord

1 These are the words of Nehemiah. He was the son of Hakaliah.

I was in the fort of Susa. I was there in the 20th year that Artaxerxes was king. It was in the month of Kislev. ² At that time Hanani came from Judah with some other men. He was one of my brothers. I asked him and the other men about the Jews who were left alive in Judah. They had returned from Babylon. I also asked him about Jerusalem.

³ He and the men with him said to me, “Some of the people who returned are still alive. They are back in the land of Judah. But they are having a hard time. They are ashamed. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down. Its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴ When I heard about these things, I sat down and wept. For several days I was very sad. I didn’t eat any food. And I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ I said,

“Lord, you are the God of heaven. You are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. ⁶ Please pay careful attention to my prayer. See how your people are suffering. Please listen to me. I’m praying to you day and night. I’m praying for the people of Israel. We Israelites have committed sins against you. All of us admit it. I and my family have also sinned against you. ⁷ We’ve done some very evil things. We haven’t obeyed the commands, rules and laws you gave your servant Moses.

⁸ “Remember what you told him. You said, ‘If you people are not faithful, I will scatter you among the nations. ⁹ But if you return to me, I will bring you back. If you obey my commands, I will gather you together again. I will bring you back from the farthest places on earth. I will bring you to the special place where I have chosen to put my Name.’

¹⁰ “Lord, they are your people. They serve you. You used your great strength and mighty hand to set them free from Egypt. ¹¹ Lord, please pay careful attention to my prayer. Listen to the prayers of all of us. We take delight in bringing honor to your name. Give me success today when I bring my request to King Artaxerxes.”

I was the king’s wine taster.

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

2 Wine was brought in for King Artaxerxes. It was the month of Nisan in the 20th year of his rule. I got the wine and gave it to him. I hadn’t been sad in front of him before. But now I was. ² So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You aren’t sick. You must be feeling very sad.”

I was really afraid. ³ But I said to the king, “May you live forever! Why shouldn’t I look sad? The city where my people of long ago are buried has been destroyed. And fire has burned up its gates.”

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

I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I answered the king, “Are you pleased with me, King Artaxerxes? If it pleases you, send me to Judah. Let me go to the city of Jerusalem. That’s where my people are buried. I want to rebuild it.”

⁶ The queen was sitting beside the king. He turned and asked me, “How long will your journey take? When will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me. So I chose a certain time.

⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases you, may I take some letters with me? I want to give them to the governors of the land west of the Euphrates River. Then they’ll help me travel safely through their territory until I arrive in Judah. ⁸ May I also have a letter to Asaph? He takes care of the royal park. I want him to give me some logs so I can make beams out of them. I want to use them for the gates of the fort that is by the temple. Some of the logs will also be used in the city wall. And I’ll need some for the house I’m going to live in.” God was kind to me and helped me. So the king gave me what I asked for. ⁹ Then I went to the governors of the land west of the Euphrates River. I gave them the king’s letters. He had also sent army officers and horsemen along with me.

¹⁰ Sanballat and Tobiah heard about what was happening. Sanballat was a Horonite. Tobiah was an official from Ammon. They were very upset that someone had come to help the Israelites.

Nehemiah Checks Out the Walls of Jerusalem

¹¹ I went to Jerusalem and stayed there for three days. ¹² Then at night I took a few other people with me to check out the walls. I hadn’t told anyone what my God wanted me to do for Jerusalem. There weren’t any donkeys with me except the one I was riding on.

¹³ That night I went out through the Valley Gate. I went toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate. I checked out the walls of Jerusalem. They had been broken down. I also checked the city gates. Fire had burned them up. ¹⁴ I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool. But there wasn’t enough room for my donkey to get through. ¹⁵ It was still night. I went up the Kidron Valley. I kept checking the wall. Finally, I turned back. I went back in through the Valley Gate. ¹⁶ The officials didn’t know where I had gone or what I had done. That’s because I hadn’t said anything to anyone yet. I hadn’t told the priests or nobles or officials. And I hadn’t spoken to any other Jews who would be rebuilding the wall.

¹⁷ I said to them, “You can see the trouble we’re in. Jerusalem has been destroyed. Fire has burned up its gates. Come on. Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. Then people won’t be ashamed anymore.” ¹⁸ I also told them how my gracious God was helping me. And I told them what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let’s start rebuilding.” So they began that good work.

¹⁹ But Sanballat, the Horonite, heard about it. So did Tobiah, the official from Ammon. Geshem, the Arab, heard about it too. All of them laughed at us. They made fun of us. “What do you think you are doing?” they asked. “Are you turning against the king?”

²⁰ I answered, “The God of heaven will give us success. We serve him. So we’ll start rebuilding the walls. But you don’t have any share in Jerusalem. You don’t have any claim to it. You don’t have any right to worship here.”

A List of the People Who Repaired the Wall

3 Eliashib the high priest and the other priests went to work. They rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They set it apart to God. They put its doors in place. They continued to rebuild the wall up to the Tower of the Hundred. They set the tower apart to God. Then they continued to rebuild the wall all the way to the Tower of Hananel. ² Some men from Jericho rebuilt the next part of the wall. And Zakkur rebuilt the next part. He was the son of Imri.

³ The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. They laid its beams. They put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars. ⁴ Meremoth repaired the next part of the wall. He was the son of Uriah. Uriah was the son of Hakkoz. Next to Meremoth, Meshullam made some repairs. He was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Meshezabel. Next to Meshullam, Zadok also made some repairs. He was the son of Baana. ⁵ Some men from Tekoa repaired the next part of the wall. But their nobles refused to do any work at all. They didn’t pay any attention to the people who were in charge of the work.

⁶ Joiada and Meshullam repaired the Jeshanah Gate. Joiada was the son of Paseah. Meshullam was the son of Besodeiah. Joiada and Meshullam laid the beams of the gate. They put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars. ⁷ Next to them, some men from Gibeon and Mizpah made repairs. They included Melatiah from Gibeon and Jadon from Meronoth. Those places were under the authority of the governor of the land west of the Euphrates River. ⁸ Uzziel repaired the next part of the wall. He made his living by working with gold. He was the son of Harhaiah. Hananiah made repairs on the next part. He made his living by making perfume. So the wall of Jerusalem was made like new again all the way to the Broad Wall. ⁹ Rephaiah repaired the next part. He was the son of Hur. Rephaiah ruled over half of the territory where Jerusalem was located. ¹⁰ Jedaiah repaired the part of the wall that was across from his house. He was the son of Harumaph. Hattush made repairs next to Jedaiah. Hattush was the son of Hashabneiah. ¹¹ Malkijah and Hasshub repaired another part of the wall. They also repaired the Tower of the Ovens. Malkijah was the son of Harim. Hasshub was the son of Pahath-Moab. ¹² Shallum repaired the next part. His daughters helped him. He was the son of Hallohesh. Shallum ruled over the other half of the territory where Jerusalem was located.

¹³ Hanun repaired the Valley Gate. Some people who lived in Zanoah helped him. They rebuilt it. They put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars. They also repaired 1,500 feet of the wall. They repaired it all the way to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malkijah repaired the Dung Gate. He was the son of Rekab. Malkijah ruled over the territory where Beth Hakkerem was located. He rebuilt the gate. He put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars.

¹⁵ Shallun repaired the Fountain Gate. He was the son of Kol-Hozeh. Shallun ruled over the territory where Mizpah was located. He rebuilt the gate. He put a roof over it. And he put in place the doors of the gate with their metal bolts and bars. He also repaired the wall by the Pool of Siloam. It was near the King’s Garden. Shallun repaired the wall as far as the steps that go down from the City of David. ¹⁶ Next to Shallun, Nehemiah made some repairs. He was the son of Azbuk. Nehemiah ruled over half of the territory where Beth Zur was located. He repaired the wall up to the part that was across from the tombs of David. He repaired it all the way to the man-made pool and the House of the Heroes.

¹⁷ Next to Nehemiah, some Levites made repairs. They worked under the direction of Rehum. He was the son of Bani. Next to Rehum, Hashabiah made repairs for his territory. He ruled over half of the territory where Keilah was located. ¹⁸ Next to him, other Levites made some repairs. They worked under the direction of Binnui. He was the son of Henadad. Binnui ruled over the other half of the territory where Keilah was located. ¹⁹ Next to Binnui, Ezer repaired another part of the wall. He was the son of Jeshua. Ezer ruled over Mizpah. He repaired the part across from the place that went up to the storeroom where the weapons were kept. He repaired the wall up to the angle of the wall. ²⁰ Next to Ezer, Baruch worked hard to repair another part of the wall. He was the son of Zabbai. He repaired the part from the angle of the wall to the entrance to Eliashib’s house. Eliashib was the high priest. ²¹ Next to Baruch, Meremoth repaired another part. He was the son of Uriah. Uriah was the son of Hakkoz. Meremoth repaired the part from the entrance to Eliashib’s house to the end of the house.

²² Next to Meremoth, some priests from the surrounding area made repairs. ²³ Next to them, Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the part of the wall that was in front of their house. Next to them, Azariah repaired the part that was beside his house. He was the son of Maaseiah. Maaseiah was the son of Ananiah. ²⁴ Next to Azariah, Binnui made repairs on another part. Binnui was the son of Henadad. Binnui repaired the wall from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner. ²⁵ Palal worked across from the angle. He was the son of Uzai. Palal also worked across from the tower that was part of the upper palace. It was near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah made some repairs. He was the son of Parosh. ²⁶ The temple servants who lived on the hill of Ophel helped Pedaiah. They repaired the wall up to the part that was across from the Water Gate. It was toward the east and the palace tower. ²⁷ Next to the temple servants, the men from Tekoa repaired another part. They made repairs from the large palace tower to the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ The priests made repairs above the Horse Gate. Each priest repaired the part of the wall that was in front of his own house. ²⁹ Next to them, Zadok made repairs across from his house. He was the son of Immer. Next to Zadok, Shemaiah made some repairs. He was the son of Shekaniah. Shemaiah guarded the East Gate. ³⁰ Next to him, Hananiah and Hanun repaired another part of the wall. Hananiah was the son of Shelemiah. Hanun was the sixth son of Zalaph. Next to Hananiah and Hanun, Meshullam made some repairs. He was the son of Berekiah. Meshullam repaired the part that was across from where he lived. ³¹ Next to him, Malkijah made some repairs. He made his living by working with gold. He repaired the wall up to the house of the temple servants and the traders. It was across from the Inspection Gate. He also repaired the wall as far as the room above the corner. ³² The traders and those who made their living by working with gold made some repairs. They repaired the wall from the room above the corner to the Sheep Gate.