Nehemiah

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.

1It was the month of Nisan, in the king's twentieth year. Wine was set out for King Artaxerxes. I picked up the wine and handed it to him. I had never looked sad in front of him before.

NoteNisan is a spring month, around March or April.

2Wherefore 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,

2The king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad? You are not sick. Something must be hurting your heart." I was very afraid.

3And 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?

3I said to the king, "May the king live forever! How can I not be sad? The city where my family is buried lies in ruins. Its gates were burned up by fire."

4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

4The king said, "What are you asking me for?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5And 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.

5Then I said, "If it pleases the king, and if you are happy with me, please send me to Judah. Send me to the city where my family is buried, so I can build it again."

6And 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.

6The queen was sitting beside him. The king asked, "How long will your trip take? When will you come back?" The king was willing to send me. So I told him a time.

7Moreover 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;

7I also said, "If it pleases the king, please give me letters. They would be for the governors west of the great river. Then they will let me travel safely to Judah."

Note"Beyond the river" means the land west of the Euphrates River. That is how people in the king's court said it, since they lived east of it.

8And 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.

8"Please also send a letter to Asaph, who takes care of the king's forest. Ask him to give me wood. I need beams for the gates of the strong tower by God's house. I also need wood for the city wall and for the house where I will live." The king said yes to all of it, because my God was kind to me.

9Then 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.

9So I went to the governors west of the great river. I gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and soldiers on horses with me.

10When 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.

10Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah, an Ammonite official, heard about this. It upset them very much. They did not like that someone had come to help the people of Israel.

11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

11So I came to Jerusalem. I stayed there three days.

12And 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.

12Then I got up in the night with a few men. I did not tell anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I rode.

13And 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.

13That night I went out through the Valley Gate. I rode toward the Serpent Well and the Dung Gate. I looked closely at the walls of Jerusalem. They were broken down, and the gates were burned up.

NoteThe Dung Gate was where trash and waste were carried out of the city.

14Then 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.

14Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool. But there was no room for my animal to get through.

15Then 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.

15So I went up the valley in the dark and looked at the wall. Then I turned around. I came back in through the Valley Gate.

16And 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.

16The leaders did not know where I had gone or what I did. I had not yet told the Jews, or the priests, or the important men, or the leaders, or the workers.

17Then 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.

17Then I said to them, "You can see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates are burned. Come, let us build the wall again. Then people will not shame us anymore."

18Then 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.

18I told them how kind God had been to me. I also told them what the king had said. They answered, "Let's get up and build." So they got ready for this good work.

19But 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?

19But Sanballat from Horon, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it. They laughed at us and made fun of us. They said, "What are you doing? Are you turning against the king?"

20Then 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.

20I answered them, "The God of heaven will help us do well. We are his servants, and we will build. But this city is not yours. You have no share in Jerusalem and no claim here."