Nehemiah 1-2
King James Version
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
2 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 unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
6 And the king said unto 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 Moreover I said unto the king, If it 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 And a letter unto 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 into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 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 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 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 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 the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 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 Then went I 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 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 said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 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 unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
19 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 Then answered I them, and said unto 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.
Nehemiah 1-2
1599 Geneva Bible
Nehemiah
1 4 Nehemiah bewaileth the calamity of Jerusalem. 5 He confesseth the sins of the people, and praiseth God for them.
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. In the month [a]Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the palace of Shushan,
2 Came Hanani, one of my [b]brethren, he and the men of Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews that were delivered, which were of the residue of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The residue that are left of the captivity there in the [c]province, are in great affliction and in reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire.
4 And when I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, (A)O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him, and observe his commandments,
6 I pray thee let thine ears be attent, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee daily, day and night for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee, both I and my father’s house have sinned:
7 We have [d]grievously sinned against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 I beseech thee, remember the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, Ye will transgress, and (B)I will scatter you abroad among the people.
9 But if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them, (C)though your scattering were to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather you from thence, and will bring you unto the place that I have chosen to place my Name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy mighty hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let thine ear now hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to [e]fear thy Name, and I pray thee, cause thy servant to prosper this day, and give him favor in the presence of [f]this man: for I was the king’s butler.
2 1 After Nehemiah had obtained letters of Artaxerxes, 11 he came to Jerusalem, 17 and built the walls.
1 Now in the month [g]Nisan in the twentieth year of king [h]Artaxerxes, the wine stood before him, and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I was not before time sad in his presence.
2 And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing, but sorrow of heart. Then was I sore afraid,
3 And I said to the King, God save the king forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city and house of the sepulchers of my fathers lieth waste, and the gates thereof are devoured with fire?
4 And the king said unto me, For what thing doest thou require? Then I prayed [i]to the God of heaven,
5 And said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, I desire that thou wouldest send me to Judah unto the city of the sepulchers of my fathers, that I may build it.
6 And the King said unto me, (the Queen also sitting by him:) How long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou come again? So it pleased the king, and he sent me, and I set him a time.
7 After I said unto the King, If it please the King, let them give me letters to the captains beyond the [j]River, that they may convey me over, till I come into Judah,
8 And letters unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s [k]park, that he may give me timber to build the gates of the palace (which appertained to the house) and for the walls of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king gave me according to [l]the good hand of my God upon me.
9 ¶ Then came I to the captains beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. And the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 But [m]Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah a servant an Ammonite heard it, and it grieved them sore, that there was come a man which sought the wealth of the children of Israel.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I rose in the night, I, and a few men with me: for I told no man, what God had put in mine heart to do at Jerusalem, and there was not a beast with me, save the beast whereon I rode.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, and came before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, how they were broken down, and the ports thereof devoured with the fire.
14 Then I went forth unto the gate of the [n]fountain, and to the king’s fish pool, and there was no room for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and coming back, I entered by the gate of the valley, and returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I was gone, nor what I did, neither did I as yet tell it unto the Jews, nor to the Priests, nor to the noble men, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that labored in the work.
17 Afterward I said unto them, Ye see the misery that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire: come, and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more [o]a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God, (which was good over me) and also of the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise, and build. So they [p]strengthened their hand to good.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant an Ammonite, and [q]Geshem the Arabian heard it, they mocked us, and despised us, and said, What a thing is this that ye do? Will ye [r]rebel against the king?
20 Then answered I them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us, and we his servants will rise up and build: but as for you, ye have no portion nor right, nor [s]memorial in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 1:1 Which containeth part of November and part of December, and was their ninth month.
- Nehemiah 1:2 A Jew as I was.
- Nehemiah 1:3 Meaning, in Judea.
- Nehemiah 1:7 Hebrew, corrupted.
- Nehemiah 1:11 That is, to worship thee.
- Nehemiah 1:11 To wit, the king Artaxerxes.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Which was the first month of the year, and containeth part of March and part of April.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Who is also called Darius, read Ezra 7:1, and was the son of Hystaspis.
- Nehemiah 2:4 I desired God in mine heart to prosper mine enterprise.
- Nehemiah 2:7 Or, Euphrates.
- Nehemiah 2:8 Or, Paradise.
- Nehemiah 2:8 As God moved me to ask, and as he gave me good success therein.
- Nehemiah 2:10 These were great enemies to the Jews, and labored always both by force and subtlety to overcome them, and Tobiah, because his wife was a Jewess, had advertisement ever of their affairs, and so wrought them great trouble.
- Nehemiah 2:14 Or, conduit.
- Nehemiah 2:17 That is, contemned of other nations, as though God had forsaken us.
- Nehemiah 2:18 They were encouraged, and gave themselves to do well, and to travel in this worthy enterprise.
- Nehemiah 2:19 These were three chief governors under the king of Persia beyond Euphrates.
- Nehemiah 2:19 Thus the wicked when they will burden the children of God, ever lay treason unto their charge, both because it maketh them most odious to the world, and also stirreth the hatred of princes most against them.
- Nehemiah 2:20 Neither are ye of the number of the children of God (to whom he hath appointed this city only) neither did any of your predecessors ever fear God.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
