The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the fortress,

And they said to me, Those who remain, that are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction and reproach; and the wall of Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,

Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, confessing the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

but if ye return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

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 delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was the king's cupbearer.

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 to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence.

And the king said to me, Why is thy face sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sadness of heart. And I was very sore afraid.

And I said to the king, Let the king live for ever! Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?

And the king said to me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of the heavens.

And I said to the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

And the king said to me the queen also sitting by him, For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return? And it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

And I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may set me forward till I come into Judah;

and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertains 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.

And I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of a force and horsemen with me.

And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me but I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem and there was no beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon.

And I went out by night by the valley-gate, even toward the jackal-fountain, and to the dung-gate; and I viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were in ruins, and its gates were consumed with fire.

And I went on to the fountain-gate, and to the king's pool; and there was no place for the beast under me to pass.

And the rulers did not know whither I went or what I did, for I had not 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.

And I said to them, Ye see the distress that we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

And Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it; and they mocked us and despised us, and said, What is this thing which ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

And I answered them, and said to them, The God of the heavens, he will prosper us, and we his servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.

And Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they built the sheep-gate. They hallowed it, and set up its doors; and they hallowed it even to the tower of Meah, to the tower of Hananeel.

And next to them built the men of Jericho. And next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri.

And next to them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next to them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next to them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.

And next to them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, to the seat of the governor on this side the river.

Next to them repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths; and next to him repaired Hananiah of the perfumers, and they left Jerusalem in its state as far as the broad wall.

And next to them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.

And next to them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next to him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.

And next to them repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

And the fountain-gate repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the chief of the district of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its locks and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, and to the stairs that go down from the city of David.

After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the chief of the half district of Beth-zur, even over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.

After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him repaired Hashabiah, the chief of the half district of Keilah, for his district.

And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, a second piece over against the going up to the armoury at the angle.

After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another piece, from the angle to the entry of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah to the angle, as far as the corner.

After him repaired Malchijah of the goldsmiths to the place of the Nethinim and of the dealers, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the ascent of the corner.

And it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was angry and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? shall they be permitted to go on? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, when they are burned?

But we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to the half thereof; for the people had a mind to work.

And it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobijah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being repaired, that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

and conspired all of them together to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

Then we prayed to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens faileth, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build at the wall.

And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them and kill them, and put an end to the work.

And it came to pass that when the Jews that dwelt by them came and told us so ten times, from all the places whence they returned to us,

I set in the lower places behind the wall in exposed places, I even set the people, according to their families, with their swords, their spears and their bows.

And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

And it came to pass that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had defeated their counsel, we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work.

And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and extended, and we are scattered upon the wall, one far from another:

in what place ye hear the sound of the trumpet, thither shall ye assemble to us; our God will fight for us.

Likewise at the same time I said to the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and be for labour in the day.

And there were that said, We have had to pledge our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses, that we might procure corn in the dearth.

yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and behold, we must bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage already; neither is it in the power of our hand to redeem them, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.

And I consulted with myself; and I remonstrated with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother! And I set a great assembly against them.

And I said to them, We, according to our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the nations; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? And they were silent and found no answer.

And I said, The thing that ye do is not good. Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, so as not to be the reproach of the nations our enemies?

Restore, I pray you, to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive-gardens, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine and the oil, that ye have exacted of them.

And they said, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do, as thou hast said. And I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.

Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house and from his earnings, that performeth not this promise: even thus be he shaken out and emptied! And all the congregation said, Amen! And they praised Jehovah. And the people did according to this promise.

Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

But the former governors that were before me had been chargeable to the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver: even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not so, because of the fear of God.

Yea, also I applied myself to this work of the wall, and we bought no fields; and all my servants were gathered thither for the work.

And there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews and the rulers, besides those that came to us from among the nations that were about us.

And it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobijah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),

that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you?

And they sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them in the same manner.

Then sent Sanballat his servant to me in this manner the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand,

in which was written: It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thou buildest the wall, and according to these words thou wilt become their king.

And thou hast also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning thee at Jerusalem saying, There is a king in Judah! And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

And I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

And I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who had shut himself up. And he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill thee; even in the night are they coming to kill thee.

Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have wherewith to spread an evil report, that they might reproach me.

My God, remember Tobijah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who would have put me in fear.

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

And it came to pass that when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations that were about us were afraid and were much cast down in their own eyes, and they perceived that this work was wrought by our God.

Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobijah, and those of Tobijah came to them.

For there were many in Judah sworn to him; for he was a son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.

Also they spoke of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. And Tobijah sent letters to put me in fear.

And it came to pass when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, that the doorkeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed.

And I said to them that the gates of Jerusalem should not be opened until the sun was hot, and that they should shut the doors and bar them while they stood by; and that there should be appointed watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one over against his house.

And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, for registration by genealogy. And I found a genealogical register of those that had come up at the first, and I found written in it:

These are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his city;

The children of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two.

The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.

The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two.

The children of Pahath-Moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen.

The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four.

The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two.

The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven.

The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.

The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two.

The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.

The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four.

The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two.

The children of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred and forty-seven.