Old/New Testament
Opposition to the Work Continues
4 (3:33)[a] Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his colleagues[b] and the army of Samaria he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves?[c] Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”
3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Return their reproach on their own head. Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from your sight, for they have bitterly offended[d] the builders.[e]
6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.[f] The people were enthusiastic in their work.[g]
7 (4:1)[h] When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them conspired together to move with armed forces[i] against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it. 9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them[j] both day and night. 10 Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers[k] has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”
11 Our adversaries also boasted,[l] “Before they are aware or anticipate[m] anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
12 So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly[n] about all the schemes[o] they were plotting[p] against us.
13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places.[q] I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 When I had made an inspection,[r] I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord,[s] and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!”[t]
15 It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters,[u] God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work. 16 From that day forward, half my men were doing the work and half were taking up spears,[v] shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people[w] of Judah 17 who were rebuilding the wall.[x] Those who were carrying loads did so[y] by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon. 18 The builders, to a man, had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter[z] remained with me.
19 I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding[aa] and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we worked on,[ab] with half[ac] holding spears, from dawn till dusk.[ad] 22 At that time I instructed[ae] the people, “Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day.” 23 We did not change clothes[af]—not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.[ag]
Nehemiah Intervenes on behalf of the Oppressed
5 Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.[ah] 2 There were those who said, “With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain[ai] grain in order to eat and stay alive.” 3 There were others who said, “We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine.” 4 Then there were those who said, “We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king[aj] on our fields and our vineyards. 5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen[ak] and our children are just like their children,[al] still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery.[am] Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help,[an] since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.”[ao]
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints.[ap] 7 I considered these things carefully[aq] and then registered a complaint with the wealthy[ar] and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral[as] from your own countrymen!”[at] Because of them I called for[au] a great public assembly. 8 I said to them, “To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews[av] who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen,[aw] so that we can then buy them back!” They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say.
9 Then I[ax] said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong![ay] Should you not conduct yourselves[az] in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies? 10 Even I and my relatives[ba] and my associates[bb] are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral![bc] 11 This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest[bd] that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”
12 They replied, “We will return these things,[be] and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials[bf] swear to do what had been promised.[bg] 13 I also shook out my garment,[bh] and I said, “In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out[bi] this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!” All the assembly replied, “So be it!” and they praised the Lord. Then the people did as they had promised.[bj]
14 From the day that I was appointed[bk] governor[bl] in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes—twelve years in all—neither I nor my relatives[bm] ate the food allotted to the governor.[bn] 15 But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to[bo] forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God. 16 I gave myself to the work on this wall, without even purchasing[bp] a field. All my associates were gathered there for the work.
17 There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely,[bq] in addition to those who came to us from the nations[br] all around us. 18 Every day one ox, six select sheep, and some birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Despite all this I did not require the food allotted to the governor, for the work was demanding on this people.
19 Please remember me for good, O my God, for all that I have done for this people.
Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues
6 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim[bs] in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.
3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in[bt] an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?” 4 They contacted[bu] me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time.[bv]
5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6 Written in it were the following words:
“Among the nations it is rumored[bw] (and Geshem[bx] has substantiated[by] this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors[bz] you are going to become their king. 7 You have also established prophets to announce[ca] in Jerusalem on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on, let’s talk about this.”[cb]
8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing.[cc] All of this is a figment of your imagination.”[cd]
9 All of them were wanting[ce] to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”
So now, strengthen my hands![cf]
10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home.[cg] He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”
11 But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life?[ch] I will not go!” 12 I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat.[ci] 13 He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I[cj] would be discredited.[ck]
14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs—also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who have been trying to scare me!
The Rebuilding of the Wall Is Finally Completed
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul,[cl] in just fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw[cm] this, they were greatly disheartened.[cn] They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
17 In those days the aristocrats of Judah repeatedly sent letters to Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them. 18 For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him,[co] because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. 19 They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said.[cp] Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare[cq] me.
7 When the wall had been rebuilt and I had positioned the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I then put in charge over Jerusalem my brother Hanani and Hananiah[cr] the chief of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many do. 3 I[cs] said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning,[ct] until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them.[cu] Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.” 4 Now the city was spread out[cv] and large, and there were not a lot of people in it.[cw] At that time houses had not been rebuilt. 5 My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders,[cx] the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records[cy] of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record:[cz]
6 These are the people[da] of the province who returned[db] from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile.[dc] They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his own city. 7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
The number of Israelite men[dd] was as follows:
8 the descendants[de] of Parosh: 2,172;
9 the descendants of Shephatiah: 372;
10 the descendants of Arah: 652;
11 the descendants of Pahath Moab (from the line[df] of Jeshua and Joab): 2,818;
12 the descendants of Elam: 1,254;
13 the descendants of Zattu: 845;
14 the descendants of Zaccai: 760;
15 the descendants of Binnui: 648;
16 the descendants of Bebai: 628;
17 the descendants of Azgad: 2,322;
18 the descendants of Adonikam: 667;
19 the descendants of Bigvai: 2,067;
20 the descendants of Adin: 655;
21 the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah): 98;
22 the descendants of Hashum: 328;
23 the descendants of Bezai: 324;
24 the descendants of Harif: 112;
25 the descendants of Gibeon: 95;
26 The men of Bethlehem and Netophah: 188;
27 the men of Anathoth: 128;
28 the men of the family[dg] of Azmaveth: 42;
29 the men of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth: 743;
30 the men of Ramah and Geba: 621;
31 the men of Micmash: 122;
32 the men of Bethel and Ai: 123;
33 the men of the other Nebo: 52;
34 the descendants of the other Elam: 1,254;
35 the descendants of Harim: 320;
36 the descendants of Jericho: 345;
37 the descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono: 721;
38 the descendants of Senaah: 3,930;
39 The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family[dh] of Jeshua): 973;
40 the descendants of Immer: 1,052;
41 the descendants of Pashhur: 1,247;
42 the descendants of Harim: 1,017.
43 The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel, through the line of Hodaviah): 74.
44 The singers: the descendants of Asaph: 148.
45 The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai: 138.
46 The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth, 47 the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon, 48 the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah, the descendants of Shalmai, 49 the descendants of Hanan, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar, 50 the descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin, the descendants of Nekoda, 51 the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzzah, the descendants of Paseah, 52 the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephussim, 53 the descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur, 54 the descendants of Bazluth, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha, 55 the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah, 56 the descendants of Neziah, the descendants of Hatipha.
57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida, 58 the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel, 59 the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pokereth Hazzebaim, and the descendants of Amon.
60 All the temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon, 392.
61 These are the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer (although they were unable to certify[di] their family connection[dj] or their ancestry,[dk] as to whether they were really from Israel):
62 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 642.
63 And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a woman from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 64 They searched for their records in the genealogical materials, but none were found. They were therefore excluded[dl] from the priesthood. 65 The governor[dm] instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult[dn] the Urim and Thummim.
66 The entire group numbered 42,360— 67 not counting their 7,337 male and female servants. They also had 245 male and female singers. 68 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 69 (7:68)[do] 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. 70 Some of the family leaders[dp] contributed to the work. The governor contributed to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas,[dq] 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments. 71 Some of the family leaders gave to the project treasury 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. 72 What the rest of the people gave amounted to 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priestly garments.
73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities.
The People Respond to the Reading of the Law
When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites[dr] were settled in their towns,[ds]
22 “Men of Israel,[a] listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds,[b] wonders, and miraculous signs[c] that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know— 23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed[d] by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.[e] 24 But God raised him up,[f] having released[g] him from the pains[h] of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power.[i] 25 For David says about him,
‘I saw the Lord always in front of me,[j]
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;
my body[k] also will live in hope,
27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,[l]
nor permit your Holy One to experience[m] decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of joy with your presence.’[n]
29 “Brothers,[o] I can speak confidently[p] to you about our forefather[q] David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 So then, because[r] he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants[s] on his throne,[t] 31 David by foreseeing this[u] spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,[v] that he was neither abandoned to Hades,[w] nor did his body[x] experience[y] decay.[z] 32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it.[aa] 33 So then, exalted[ab] to the right hand[ac] of God, and having received[ad] the promise of the Holy Spirit[ae] from the Father, he has poured out[af] what you both see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit[ag] at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool[ah] for your feet.”’[ai]
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt[aj] that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified[ak] both Lord[al] and Christ.”[am]
The Response to Peter’s Address
37 Now when they heard this,[an] they were acutely distressed[ao] and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized[ap] in the name of Jesus Christ[aq] for[ar] the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.[as] 39 For the promise[at] is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40 With many other words he testified[au] and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse[av] generation!” 41 So those who accepted[aw] his message[ax] were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people[ay] were added.[az]
The Fellowship of the Early Believers
42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,[ba] to the breaking of bread and to prayer.[bb] 43 Reverential awe[bc] came over everyone,[bd] and many wonders and miraculous signs[be] came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held[bf] everything in common, 45 and they began selling[bg] their property[bh] and possessions and distributing the proceeds[bi] to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day[bj] they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts,[bk] breaking bread from[bl] house to house, sharing their food with glad[bm] and humble hearts,[bn] 47 praising God and having the good will[bo] of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day[bp] those who were being saved.
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