Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



I said, "O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands. Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the {Israelites}, and confessing the sins of the {Israelites} that we have sinned against you. I and my father's house have sinned. We have certainly offended you and have not kept the commands, regulations, and judgments that you have commanded your servant Moses. read more.
Please, remember the word that you have commanded to your servant Moses, saying, 'If you act unfaithfully I will scatter you all among the nations. But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even though all of your outcasts are at the furthest parts of heaven, I will gather them and bring them to the place which I have chosen to make my name dwell.' They are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, please let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to revere in your name. Please, let your servant be successful this day and give him compassion before this man." I was cupbearer for the king.

Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn on their head and give them over to plunder in the land of captivity. Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have {provoked the builders to anger}.


Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have {provoked the builders to anger}. Verse ConceptsCoveringUnforgivenessGod Not ForgivingGuiltAnger And Forgiveness

So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God. It was very displeasing for me, and I threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber. And I spoke [in order], and they cleansed the chambers. Then I returned the objects of the house of God--the grain offering and the frankincense.

In those days I saw in Judah [people] treading the wine press on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps [of grain] and loading them on donkeys along with wine, grapes and figs, and every kind of burden and bringing [it all] to Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath. And I warned them at that time against selling food. Tyrian men who lived in [Jerusalem] brought fish and every kind of merchandise and sold [it] on the Sabbath to the descendants of Judah and in Jerusalem. So I quarreled with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the day of the Sabbath? read more.
Did not your ancestors do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city [too]? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!" So when it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and said that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my young men over the gates [to prevent] any {goods} being brought in on the day of the Sabbath. So the merchants and the sellers of merchandise spent the night outside of Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, "Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do [it again], I will lay hands against you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. And then I told two Levites that they must purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to consecrate the day of the Sabbath. Remember this also, my God, and take pity on me according to the greatness of your loyal love. Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke Ashdodite and could not speak Judean, but [only] the tongues of other nations. So I quarreled with them and cursed them and beat some of their men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath by God: "Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin. Should we listen to you all and do this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?" One from the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, [who was] the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonote [was there]. I chased him away from me.

Now it happened when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, [he] became angry and greatly provoked, and he mocked the Jews. Then he said before his brothers and the army of Samaria, "What are the feeble Jews doing? Will they restore [these things] for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the piles of rubble--even those burned up?" Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, "Their wall of stone that they are building would break down if a fox went on it!" read more.
Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn on their head and give them over to plunder in the land of captivity. Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have {provoked the builders to anger}. So we rebuilt the wall, and all of the wall was joined up to half [its height]. For the people had a heart to do [it]. Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem were going forward and the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. So all of them plotted together to come fight against Jerusalem and to make trouble for it. So we prayed to our God and set up a guard against them day and night. But Judah said, "The strength of the carriers is failing, and there is too much dirt, and we are not able to build at the wall." Then our enemies said, "They will not know nor see until we come upon them and will kill them and stop the work." When the Jews who lived beside them came, they said to us ten times, "From all of the places where they live, [they will come up] against us." I stationed the people behind the deepest part of the wall in the open places according to their families, with their swords, spears, and bows. And I looked, got up, and said to the nobles, prefects, and the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses." It happened when our enemies heard that their plan was known to us, that God had frustrated [it], and we all returned to the wall--each to his work. From that day, half of my servants were working on craftsmanship, half were holding spears, small shields, bows, and breastplates. The commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. The ones who were building the wall and the ones {who carried the materials} were carrying in one hand while doing the task, and with the other hand were grasping a weapon. Each of the builders had his sword tied to his side while building. And the man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.