Apr 21 - Nehemiah 1-4
Nehemiah
1The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. And it happened that, in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, I was in the capital city of Susa2And Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived, he and some men of Judah. And I questioned them about the Jews who had remained and were left behind from the captivity, and about Jerusalem3And they said to me: "Those who have remained and have been left behind from the captivity, there in the province, are in great affliction and in disgrace. And the wall of Jerusalem has been broken apart, and its gates have been burned with fire.4And when I had heard this manner of words, I sat down, and I wept and mourned for many days. I fasted and prayed before the face of the God of heaven5And I said: "I beg you, O Lord, God of heaven, strong, great, and terrible, who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love you and who keep your commandments6may your ears be attentive, and may your eyes be open, so that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you today, night and day, for the sons of Israel, your servants. And I am confessing the sins of the sons of Israel, which they have sinned against you. We have sinned, I and my father’s house7We have been seduced by vanity. And we have not kept your commandments and ceremonies and judgments, which you have instructed to your servant Moses8Remember the word which you commanded to your servant Moses, saying: ‘When you will have transgressed, I will disperse you among the nations9But if you will return to me, and keep my precepts, and do them, even if you will have been led away to the furthest reaches of the heavens, I will gather you from there, and I will lead you back to the place that I have chosen so that my name would dwell there.10And these same are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great strength and by your powerful hand11I beg you, O Lord, may your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who are willing to fear your name. And so, guide your servant today, and grant to him mercy before this man." For I was the cupbearer of the king
1Now it happened that, in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, wine was before him; and I lifted up the wine, and I gave it to the king. And I was like someone languishing before his face2And the king said to me: "Why is your expression sad, though you do not appear to be sick? This is not without cause, but some evil, I know not what, is in your heart." And I was struck with an exceedingly great fear3And I said to the king: "O king, live forever. Why should my expression not be mournful, since the city of the house of the sepulchers of my father is desolate, and its gates have been burned with fire?4And the king said to me: "What would you request?" And I prayed to the God of heaven5And I said to the king: "If it seems good to the king, and if your servant is pleasing before your face: that you would send me into Judea, to the city of the sepulcher of my father. And I will rebuild it.6And the king said to me, with the queen who was sitting beside him: "Until what time will your journey be, and when will you return?" And it was pleasing before the countenance of the king, and so he sent me. And I established a time for him7And I said to the king: "If it seems good to the king, may he give me letters to the governors of the region beyond the river, so that they may lead me through, until I arrive in Judea8and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he may give me timber, in order that I may be able to cover the gates of the tower of the house, and the walls of the city, and the house that I will enter." And the king granted to me in accord with the good hand of my God, who is with me9And I went to the governors of the region beyond the river, and I gave them the letters of the king. Now the king had sent with me military leaders and horsemen10And Sanballat, a Horonite, and the servant Tobiah, an Ammonite, heard this. And they were saddened, with a great affliction, that a man had arrived who was seeking the prosperity of the sons of Israel11And I arrived at Jerusalem, and I was there for three days12And I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. And I did not reveal to anyone what God had placed in my heart to do in Jerusalem. And there was no animal with me, except the animal on which I was sitting13And I departed in the night through the gate of the valley, and before the fountain of the dragon, and toward the dung gate. And I considered the wall of Jerusalem, which was broken apart, and its gates, which had been consumed by fire14And I continued on to the gate of the fountain, and to the aqueduct of the king. And there was no room for the beast on which I was sitting to pass through15And so I climbed up in the night along the torrent, and I considered the wall. And turning back, I went by the gate of the valley, and I returned16Now the magistrates did not know where I had gone, or what I had done. For I had revealed nothing, even to that point in time, to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the magistrates, or to the others who were doing the work17And so I said to them: "You know the affliction in which we are, because Jerusalem is desolate, and its gates have been consumed by fire. Come, and let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and let us no longer be in disgrace.18And I revealed to them how the hand of my God was with me for good, and the words of the king, which he had spoken to me. And I said: "Let us rise up, and build." And their hands were strengthened for good19But Sanballat, a Horonite, and the servant Tobiah, an Ammonite, and Geshem, an Arab, heard of it. And they ridiculed and disparaged us, and they said: "What is this thing that you are doing? Could you be rebelling against the king?20And I replied to them a word, and I said to them: "The God of heaven himself is helping us, and we are his servants. Let us rise up and build. But there is no portion, or justice, or remembrance in Jerusalem for you.
1And Eliashib, the great priest, rose up, with his brothers, the priests, and they built the gate of the flock. They sanctified it, and they set up its double doors, and as far as the tower of one hundred cubits, they sanctified it, even to the tower of Hananel2And beside him, the men of Jericho built. And beside them, Zaccur, the son of Imri, built3But the sons of Hassenaah built the fish gate. They covered it, and they set up its double doors and locks and bars. And beside them, Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, built4And beside him, Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, built. And beside them, Zadok, the son of Baana, built5And beside them, the Tekoites built. But the nobles among them did not put their necks to the work of their Lord6And Joiada, the son of Paseah, and Meshullam, the son of Besodeiah, built the old gate. They covered it, and they set up its double doors and locks and bars7And beside them, Melatiah, a Gibeonite, and Jadon, a Meronothite, men from Gibeon and Mizpah, built, on behalf of the governor who was in the region across the river8And beside him, Uzziel, the son of Harhaiah the goldsmith, built. And beside him, Hananiah, the son of the perfumer, built. And they left aside Jerusalem as far as the wall of the broad street9And beside him, Rephaiah, the son of Hur, leader of a street of Jerusalem, built10And beside him, Jedaiah, the son of Harumaph, built, opposite his own house. And beside him, Hattush, the son of Hashabneiah, built11Malchijah, the son of Harim, and Hasshub, the son of Pahath-moab, built one half part of the street and the tower of the furnaces12And beside him, Shallum, the son of Hallohesh, the leader of one half part of a street of Jerusalem, built, he and his daughters13And Hanun built the gate of the valley, with the inhabitants of Zanoah. They built it, and they set up its double doors and locks and bars, with one thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the gate of the dunghill14And Malchijah, the son of Rechab, the leader of the street of Beth-haccherem, built the gate of the dunghill. He built it, and he set up its double doors and locks and bars15And Shallum, the son of Colhozeh, the leader of the district of Mizpah, built the gate of the fountain. He built it, and he covered it, and he set up its double doors and locks and bars, and the walls of the pool of Shelah at the garden of the king, and as far as the steps that descend from the City of David16After him, Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, the leader of one half part of the street of Bethzur, built, as far as opposite the sepulcher of David, and even to the pool, which was constructed with great labor, and even to the house of the strong17After him, the Levites, Rehum, the son of Bani, built. After him, Hashabiah, the leader of one half part of the street of Keilah, built, in his own neighborhood18After him, their brothers, Binnui, the son of Henadad, the leader of one half part of Keilah, built19And beside him, Ezer, the son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, built another measure, opposite the ascent to the strongest corner20After him, at the mount, Baruch, the son of Zabbai, built another measure, from the corner even to the door of the house of Eliashib, the great priest21After him, Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, built another measure, from the door of the house of Eliashib, along the length of the house of Eliashib22And after him, the priests, men from the plains of the Jordan, built23After him, Benjamin and Hasshub built, opposite their own house. And after him, Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, built, opposite his own house24After him, Binnui, the son of Henadad, built another measure, from the house of Azariah, even to the bend and to the corner25Palal, the son of Uzai, built, opposite the bend and the tower that projects from the high house of the king, that is, into the court of the prison. After him, Pedaiah, the son of Parosh, built26And the temple servants, who were living in Ophel, built to a point opposite the water gate, toward the east, and the tower that is prominent27After him, the Tekoites built another measure in the opposite area, from the great and prominent tower to the wall of the temple28Then, upward from the horse gate, the priests built, each one opposite his own house29After them, Zadok, the son of Immer, built, opposite his own house. And after him, Shemaiah, the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east gate, built30After him, Hananiah, the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, built another measure. After him, Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, built, opposite his own storehouse.31After him, Malchijah, the son of the goldsmith, built, even up to the house of the temple servants and of the sellers of small items, opposite the judgment gate, and even to the upper room of the corner.32And within the upper room of the corner, at the gate of the flock, the goldsmiths and the merchants built
1Now it happened that, when Sanballat had heard that we were building the wall, he was very angry. And having been moved exceedingly, he ridiculed the Jews2And he said, before his brothers and a crowd of the Samaritans: "What are the foolish Jews doing? Can it be that the Gentiles will allow them? Will they sacrifice and finish in one day? Do they have the ability to make stones out of piles of dust that have been burned up?3Then too, Tobiah, an Ammonite, his assistant, said: "Let them build. When the fox climbs, he will leap over their stone wall.4Listen, O our God, for we have become an object of contempt. Turn their reproach upon their own head, and grant that they may be despised in a land of captivity5May you not conceal their iniquity, and may their sin not be wiped away, before your face, for they have ridiculed those who are building6And so we built the wall, and we joined it together, even to the unfinished portion. And the heart of the people was stirred up for the work7Now it happened that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabs, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites had heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been closed, and that the breaches had begun to be repaired, they were exceedingly angry8And they all gathered together, so that they might go forth and fight against Jerusalem, and so that they might prepare ambushes9And we prayed to our God, and we stationed guards upon the wall, day and night, against them10Then Judah said: "The strength of those who carry has diminished, and the amount of material is very great, and so we will not be able to build the wall.11And our enemies said: "Let them neither know, nor realize, until we arrive in their midst, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.12Now it happened that, on ten occasions, some Jews arrived who were living near them, from all the places from which they came to us, and they told us this13So I stationed the people in order, in places behind the wall, all around it, with their swords, and lances, and bows14And I gazed around, and I rose up. And I said to the nobles, and to the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: "Do not be afraid before their face. Remember the great and terrible Lord, and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons and your daughters, and your wives and your households.15Then it happened that, when our enemies had heard that it had been reported to us, God defeated their counsel. And we all returned to the walls, each one to his own work16And it happened that, from that day, half of their young men were doing the work, and half were prepared for war with lances, and shields, and bows, and armor. And the leaders were behind them in all the house of Judah17As for those building the wall, and carrying the burdens, and setting things in place: one of his hands was doing the work, and the other was holding a sword18For each one of the builders was girded with a sword at the waist. And they were building, and they were sounding a trumpet beside me19And I said to the nobles, and to the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: "The work is great and wide, and we are separated on the wall far from one another20At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rush to that place for us. Our God will fight on our behalf21And so let us accomplish the work. And let one half part of us hold spears, from the ascent of dawn until the stars come out.22Also at that time, I said to the people: "Let each one with his servant remain in the midst of Jerusalem. And let us take turns, throughout the night and day, in doing the work.23But I and my brothers, and my servants, and the guards who were behind me, we did not take off our clothes; each one only removed his clothes to wash