Nehemiah 2-7
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
1In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid. 3I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers ' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" 4Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers ' graves, that I may rebuild it." 6And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8and 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 fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
9Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king 's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
10But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
11So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
13I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King 's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.
15Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
17Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision."
18And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"
20Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem."
Chapter 3
1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
4And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired.
5And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.
6Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
7And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River.
8Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired.
10Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired.
11Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.
12Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.
15And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king 's garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David.
16After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.
17After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.
18After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah.
19Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the buttress.
20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22After him the priests, the men of the surrounding area, repaired.
23After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house.
24After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to the corner.
25Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh
26and the temple servants living on Ophel repaired to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.
27After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.
28Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house.
29After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired.
30After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber.
31After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner.
32And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.
Chapter 4
1Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?" 3Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Yes, what they are building — if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!" 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
7But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.
8And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
9And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
10In Judah it was said, "The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall."
11And our enemies said, "They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work."
12At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, "You must return to us."
13So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
15When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.
16From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah,
17who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
18And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.
20In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."
21So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.
22I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day."
23So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.
Chapter 5
1Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2For there were those who said, "With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive." 3There were also those who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine." 4And there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king 's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards."
6I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, "You are exacting interest, each from his brother." And I held a great assembly against them
8and said to them, "We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!" They were silent and could not find a word to say.
9So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
10Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.
11Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them."
12Then they said, "We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say." And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.
13I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, "So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said "Amen" and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
14Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
15The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
16I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
17Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
18Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.
19Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
Chapter 6
1Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono." But they intended to do me harm. 3And I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" 4And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. 5In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6In it was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together." 8Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind." 9For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done." But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
10Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night."
11But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in."
12And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
14Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
15So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.
16And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
17Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah 's letters came to them.
18For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.
19Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
Chapter 7
1Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. 3And I said to them, "Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes." 4The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
6These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town.
7They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8the sons of Parosh, 2,172.
9The sons of Shephatiah, 372.
10The sons of Arah, 652.
11The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818.
12The sons of Elam, 1,254.
13The sons of Zattu, 845.
14The sons of Zaccai, 760.
15The sons of Binnui, 648.
16The sons of Bebai, 628.
17The sons of Azgad, 2,322.
18The sons of Adonikam, 667.
19The sons of Bigvai, 2,067.
20The sons of Adin, 655.
21The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98.
22The sons of Hashum, 328.
23The sons of Bezai, 324.
24The sons of Hariph, 112.
25The sons of Gibeon, 95.
26The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188.
27The men of Anathoth, 128.
28The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42.
29The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743.
30The men of Ramah and Geba, 621.
31The men of Michmas, 122.
32The men of Bethel and Ai, 123.
33The men of the other Nebo, 52.
34The sons of the other Elam, 1,254.
35The sons of Harim, 320.
36The sons of Jericho, 345.
37The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721.
38The sons of Senaah, 3,930.
39The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973.
40The sons of Immer, 1,052.
41The sons of Pashhur, 1,247.
42The sons of Harim, 1,017.
43The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74.
44The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.
45The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.
46The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
47the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
48the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai,
49the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
50the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
51the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,
52the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim,
53the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
54the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
55the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,
56the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
57The sons of Solomon 's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
58the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
59the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon.
61The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers ' houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:
62the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642.
63Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).
64These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
65The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.
66The whole assembly together was 42,360,
67besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female.
68Their horses were 736, their mules 245,
69their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.
70Now some of the heads of fathers ' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests ' garments and 500 minas of silver.
71And some of the heads of fathers ' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.
72And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests ' garments.
