Study Desk

Then I answered the king, "If you are willing and if I have pleased you, send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so I can rebuild it."

The queen was sitting next to the king. He asked me, "How long will your trip take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me, so I set a time.

And may I have a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, telling him to give me timber? I will need it to make boards for the gates of the palace, which is by the Temple, and for the city wall, and for the house in which I will live." So the king gave me the letters, because God was showing kindness to me.

So I went up the valley at night, inspecting the wall. Finally, I turned and went back in through the Valley Gate.

Then I said to them, "You can see the trouble we have here. Jerusalem is a pile of ruins, and its gates have been burned. Come, let's rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so we won't be full of shame any longer."

I also told them how God had been kind to me and what the king had said to me. Then they answered, "Let's start rebuilding." So they began to work hard.

Do not hide their guilt or take away their sins so that you can't see them, because they have insulted the builders."

So we rebuilt the wall to half its height, because the people were willing to work.

So they all made plans to come to Jerusalem and fight and stir up trouble.

The people of Judah said, "The workers are getting tired. There is so much trash we cannot rebuild the wall."

So I put people behind the lowest places along the wall—the open places—and I put families together with their swords, spears, and bows.

Then our enemies heard that we knew about their plans and that God had ruined their plans. So we all went back to the wall, each to his own work.

Then I said to the important people, the leaders, and everyone else, "This is a very big job. We are spreading out along the wall so that we are far apart.

So we continued to work with half the men holding spears from sunrise till the stars came out.

After I thought about it, I accused the important people and the leaders, "You are charging your own brothers too much interest." So I called a large meeting to deal with them.

I, my brothers, and my men are also lending money and grain to the people. But stop charging them so much for this.

Also I shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake out everyone who does not keep his promise. May God shake him out of his house and out of the things that are his. Let that person be shaken out and emptied!" Then the whole group said, "Amen," and they praised the Lord . So the people did what they had promised.

So Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, Nehemiah, let's meet together in Kephirim on the plain of Ono." But they were planning to harm me.

So I sent messengers to them with this answer: "I am doing a great work, and I can't come down. I don't want the work to stop while I leave to meet you."

and that you have appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem: "There is a king of Judah!" The king will hear about this. So come, let's discuss this together.