Nehemiah 2:4-20
4Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed ato the God of heaven. 5And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6And the king said to me ( bthe queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me cwhen I had given him a time. 7And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me dto the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of ethe fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, ffor the good hand of my God was upon me.Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls
9Then I came to gthe governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10But when hSanballat the Horonite and iTobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.11 jSo I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13I went out by night by kthe Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to lthe Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem mthat were broken down nand its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14Then I went on to othe Fountain Gate and to pthe King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15Then I went up in the night qby the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
17Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, rhow Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer ssuffer derision.” 18And I told them tof the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” uSo they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and vGeshem the Arab heard of it, wthey jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? xAre you rebelling against the king?” 20Then I replied to them, y“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim ▼
▼Or memorial
in Jerusalem.” Psalms 10:17
17O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;you will aastrengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
Psalms 50:15
15and abcall upon me in the day of trouble;I will acdeliver you, and you shall adglorify me.”
Psalms 102:16-17
16For the Lord aebuilds up Zion;he afappears in his glory;
17he agregards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
Isaiah 30:19
19For a people shall dwell ahin Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.Isaiah 65:24
24 aiBefore they call I will answer;ajwhile they are yet speaking I will hear.
Jeremiah 31:9
9 akWith weeping they shall come,aland with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them amwalk by brooks of water,
anin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for aoI am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is apmy firstborn.
Jeremiah 33:3
3 aqCall to me and I will answer you, arand will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
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