The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

And they said to me, The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. Also the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates of it are burned with fire.

And the king said to me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid.

And the rulers did not know where I went, or what I did, neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the ranking men, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.

Then I said to them, Ye see the evil condition that we are in, how Jerusalem lays waste, and the gates of it are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach.

And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good [work].

But 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?

Then I answered them, and said to 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.

Palal the son of Uzai [repaired] opposite the turning [of the wall], and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [repaired].

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

And it came to pass that, when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, From all places from where ye shall return to us they will be upon you.

And I looked, and rose up, and said to the ranking men, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters

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

And I said to the ranking men, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

In whatever place ye hear the sound of the trumpet, gather ye there to us, our God will fight for us.

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

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes, everyone [went with] his weapon [to] the water.

For there were who said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain that we may eat and live.

There were some also who said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain because of the dearth.

Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our sons as their sons. And, lo, we 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 our

And I said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers the Jews, who were sold to the nations, and would ye even sell your brothers, and should they be sold to us? Then they were silent, and found not a word.

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

And I likewise, my brothers and my servants, lend them money and grain. I pray you, let us leave off this usury.

Then they said, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them, so will we do, even as thou say. Then I called the priests, and took an oath from them that they would do 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, [that is], twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bre

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

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

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 are building the wall. And thou would be their king according to these words.

And thou have also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah. And now it shall be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

Then I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou say, but thou imagine them out of thine own heart.

For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work that it not be done. But now, [O God], strengthen thou my hands.

And I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut 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 will come to

And I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

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

the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah.

And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate. And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which LORD had commanded to Israel.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard th

Then he said to them, Go your way, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD; neither be ye grieved, for the joy of LORD is your strength.

So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be silent, for the day is holy, neither be ye grieved.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted abo

Thou are LORD, even thou alone, thou have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preserve them all. And the host of heaven worshi

and showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land, for thou knew that they dealt proudly against them, and got thee a name, as it is this day.

And thou divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land. And thou cast their pursuers into the depths as a stone into the mighty waters.

Yea, when they had made a molten calf for them, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations,

Their sons thou also multiplied as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land concerning which thou said to their fathers that they should go in to possess it.

So the sons went in and possessed the land. And thou subdued the inhabitants of the land before them, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as th

Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, let not all the travail seem little before thee, that has come upon us, on our kings, on our rulers, and on our priests, an

However thou are just in all that has come upon us, for thou have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly,

Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that thou gave to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good of it, behold, we are servants in it.

And it yields much increase to the kings whom thou have set over us because of our sins. Also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God,

also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God,

And in Jerusalem certain of the sons of Judah, and of the sons of Benjamin dwelt. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons o

and his brothers, chiefs of fathers, two hundred forty-two; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,

The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the business of the house of God.

For there was a commandment from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required.

And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the sons of Judah dwelt in Kiriath-arba and the towns of it, and in Dibon and the towns of it, and in Jekabzeel and the villages of it,

and of Joiarib, Mattenai, of Jedaiah, Uzzi,

As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of fathers, also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian.

and Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.

And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters as every day required. And they set apart [that which was] for the Levites, and the Levites set apart [that whi

Then I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.

In those days I saw in Judah some men treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys [therewith], as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on t

Then I contended with the ranking men of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?

Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.