Nehemiah 2

2 ¹ Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before. ^a a v1 Nisan was the first month of the Hebrew year, falling in early spring (around March–April). ² So the king said to me, "Why does your face look so sad, when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sorrow in your heart." Then I was overcome with fear.

³ And said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire?"

⁴ The king said to me, "What is it you are asking for?" Then I prayed to our Father in heaven, ⁵ and said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it."

⁶ Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you return?" The king was pleased to send me, so I gave him a time.

⁷ I also said to the king, "If it pleases the king, please give me letters to the governors of the province Beyond the River, so that they will grant me passage until I reach Judah. ⁸ And let me have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress by the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy." And the king granted my requests, for the good hand of my Father was upon me.

⁹ So I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of this, they were deeply displeased that someone had come to look out for the good of the people of Israel.

Walking the Broken Walls by Night

¹¹ So I arrived in Jerusalem and stayed there three days. ¹² I set out at night with a few others. I had told no one what my Father had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me except the one I was riding. ¹³ At night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal's Well and the Dung Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down, and its gates that had been burned. ¹⁴ Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no room for my mount to get through. ¹⁵ So I went up the valley at night, inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and entered through the Valley Gate, and returned. ¹⁶ The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the others who would do the work. ¹⁷ Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be a disgrace." ¹⁸ I also told them how the good hand of my Father had been upon me, and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they put their hands to the good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"

²⁰ I answered them, "Our Father in heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share or right or claim in Jerusalem."