Nehemiah's Prayer

I am Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and in this book I tell what I have done. 
During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes ruled Persia, I was in his fortress city of Susa, when my brother Hanani came with some men from Judah. So I asked them about the Jews who had escaped from being captives in Babylonia. I also asked them about the city of Jerusalem. They told me, " Those captives who have come back are having all kinds of troubles. They are terribly disgraced, Jerusalem's walls are broken down, and its gates have been burned." 

When I heard this, I sat down and cried. Then for several days, I mourned; I went without eating to show my sorrow, and I prayed:
LORD God of heaven, you are great and fearsome. And you faithfully keep your promises to everyone who loves you and obeys your commands. I am your servant, so please have mercy on me and answer the prayer that I make day and night for these people of Israel who serve you. I, my family, and the rest of your people have sinned by choosing to disobey you and the laws and teachings you gave to your servant Moses. 

Please remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped. 

Our LORD, I am praying for your servants--those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. When I serve the king his wine today, make him pleased with me and have him do what I ask.

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king, I served him his wine, as I had done before. But this was the first time I had ever looked depressed. So the king said, "Why do you look so sad? You're not sick. Something must be bothering you."
Even though I was frightened, I answered, "Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! I feel sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burned down." 
The king asked, " What do you want me to do?" 

I prayed to the God who rules from heaven. Then I told the king, " Sir, if it's all right with you, please send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried." 

The queen was sitting beside the king when he asked me, " How long will it take, and when will you be back?" The king agreed to let me go, and I told him when I would return. 

Then I asked, " Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah? I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest." God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked. 

The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I traveled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors. 10But when Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.

Nehemiah Inspects the Wall of Jerusalem

Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, I got up during the night and left my house. I took some men with me, without telling anyone what I thought God wanted me to do for the city. The only animal I took was the donkey I rode on. I went through Valley Gate on the west, then south past Dragon Spring, before coming to Garbage Gate. As I rode along, I took a good look at the crumbled walls of the city and the gates that had been torn down and burned. On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the trail became too narrow for my donkey. So I went down to Kidron Valley and looked at the wall from there. Then before daylight I returned to the city through Valley Gate.

None of the city officials knew what I had in mind. And I had not even told any of the Jews--not the priests, the leaders, the officials, or any other Jews who would be helping in the work. But when I got back, I said to them, " Jerusalem is truly in a mess! The gates have been torn down and burned, and everything is in ruins. We must rebuild the city wall so that we can again take pride in our city." 

Then I told them how kind God had been and what the king had said.
Immediately, they replied, " Let's start building now!" So they got everything ready. 

When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about our plans, they started insulting us and saying, " Just look at you! Do you plan to rebuild the walls of the city and rebel against the king?"
I answered, " We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history."

Nehemiah's Enemies

When Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, heard that we were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he became angry and started insulting our people. In front of his friends and the Samaritan army he said, " What is this feeble bunch of Jews trying to do? Are they going to rebuild the wall and offer sacrifices all in one day? Do they think they can make something out of this pile of scorched stones?" 
Tobiah from Ammon was standing beside Sanballat and said, " Look at the wall they are building! Why, even a fox could knock over this pile of stones." 

But I prayed, " Our God, these people hate us and have wished horrible things for us. Please answer our prayers and make their insults fall on them! Let them be the ones to be dragged away as prisoners of war. Don't forgive the mean and evil way they have insulted the builders." 

The people worked hard, and we built the walls of Jerusalem halfway up again. But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from the city of Ashdod saw the walls going up and the holes being repaired. So they became angry and decided to stir up trouble, and to fight against the people of Jerusalem. But we kept on praying to our God, and we also stationed guards day and night. 

Meanwhile, the people of Judah were singing a sorrowful song:
" So much rubble for us to haul!
Worn out and weary,
will we ever finish this wall?" 

Our enemies were saying, " Before those Jews know what has happened, we will sneak up and kill them and put an end to their work." 

On at least ten different occasions, the Jews living near our enemies warned us against attacks from every side, and so I sent people to guard the wall at its lowest places and where there were still holes in it. I placed them according to families, and they stood guard with swords and spears and with bows and arrows. Then I looked things over and told the leaders, the officials, and the rest of the people, " Don't be afraid of your enemies! The Lord is great and fearsome. So think of him and fight for your relatives and children, your wives and homes!"
Our enemies found out that we knew about their plot against us, but God kept them from doing what they had planned. So we went back to work on the wall. 

From then on, I let half of the young men work while the other half stood guard. They wore armor and had spears and shields, as well as bows and arrows. The leaders helped the workers who were rebuilding the wall. Everyone who hauled building materials kept one hand free to carry a weapon. Even the workers who were rebuilding the wall strapped on a sword. The worker who was to blow the signal trumpet stayed with me. 

I told the people and their officials and leaders, "Our work is so spread out, that we are a long way from one another. If you hear the sound of the trumpet, come quickly and gather around me. Our God will help us fight." 

Every day from dawn to dark, half of the workers rebuilt the walls, while the rest stood guard with their spears. 

I asked the men in charge and their workers to stay inside Jerusalem and stand guard at night. So they guarded the city at night and worked during the day. I even slept in my work clothes at night; my children, the workers, and the guards slept in theirs as well. And we always kept our weapons close by.