Nehemiah Chapter 2
Showing all 20 verses for Nehemiah Chapter 2.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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 unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. "
"In the month of Nisan (around March/April), in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, it was Nehemiah's turn to bring the king his wine. He hadn't ever appeared sad in the king's presence before."
It's alright if what you've been carrying quietly for months finally shows on your face - that's not a failure of self-control, it's honesty catching up with you. I don't ask you to perform strength forever; sometimes the breakthrough starts exactly when you stop hiding what you feel.
"Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, "
"So the king asked him, 'Why do you look so sad? You're not ill - this must be sadness in your heart.' Nehemiah was terrified."
Fear before a brave conversation doesn't mean you shouldn't have it - it usually means you're about to. I don't remove the fear; I go with you into it, the same way I stand with anyone who has to speak an honest, risky truth to someone more powerful than them.
"And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? "
"He said to the king, 'May you live forever! How could I not look sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?'"
Speak your truth, but speak it in a way the person in front of you can actually hear. I never asked you to be reckless with honesty - wisdom in how you say something is not the same as dishonesty in what you say.
"Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. "
"The king asked, 'So what is it you want?' Nehemiah quickly prayed to the God of heaven before answering."
You don't need a quiet room and folded hands to pray - the most important prayers are sometimes a single breath, right in the middle of a hard moment. I hear those instant, silent turns towards me just as clearly as any long, formal one.
"And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. "
"He answered the king, 'If it pleases you, and if I've found favour with you, please send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.'"
When you've genuinely prepared and prayed something through, don't be afraid to ask for it directly and specifically. Vague hopes rarely get answered; clear, honest requests - made respectfully - open doors.
"And the king said unto me, (the queen also siting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. "
"The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, 'How long would your journey take, and when would you come back?' The king agreed to send him, and Nehemiah gave him a specific timeframe."
When someone trusts you with an opportunity, honour that trust with real commitment, not vague intentions. I want your yes to mean yes - a clear promise you actually keep is worth more than a hundred good intentions left open-ended.
"Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; "
"He also said to the king, 'If it pleases you, give me letters for the governors of the province beyond the Euphrates River, instructing them to grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.'"
When a door opens for you, walk through it wisely - think ahead about what you'll actually need for the journey, not just the destination. I give opportunities, but I also expect you to use good sense in carrying them out.
"And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained 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 a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, instructing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress by the Temple, for the city wall, and for the house I'll be living in.' The king granted all of this, because God's good hand was on Nehemiah."
When things fall into place better than you could have engineered on your own, it's alright to notice and be grateful rather than just taking credit. Skill and preparation matter, but so does the quiet grace that sometimes carries a plan further than effort alone could.
"Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. "
"Nehemiah travelled to the governors of the province beyond the river and delivered the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry along with him."
There's no virtue in refusing help or support that's rightly yours to use for good purposes. I don't ask you to do everything alone out of false humility - accept the resources and backing that come your way honestly, and use them well.
"When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. "
"When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply upset that someone had come to work for the wellbeing of the Israelites."
Not everyone will be glad when good things happen for you or the people you care about, and that's not a reason to stop doing good. I know what it is to be opposed simply for bringing help and hope to people others would rather keep struggling.
"So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. "
"Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and stayed there for three days before doing anything."
Not every good plan needs to start with a burst of action. I value patience that watches and listens first - give yourself permission to observe quietly before you leap into fixing anything.
"And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. "
"He got up at night with a few men, without telling anyone what God had put in his heart to do for Jerusalem, and without any pack animals except the one he was riding."
Some things need to be worked out quietly between you and me before you announce them to the world. I don't need an audience to know what's in your heart - let your conviction be settled first, in private, before you carry it into public action.
"And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. "
"He went out at night through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal's Well, to the Dung Gate, examining the broken walls of Jerusalem and its fire-damaged gates."
Don't build your plans only on what others tell you - go and see for yourself whenever you can. I want you grounded in reality, not rumour, before you commit your energy to fixing something.
"Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. "
"Then he went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there wasn't enough room for his animal to get through the rubble."
When you get close enough to a problem to really feel its size, don't be discouraged - that clarity is a gift, not a setback. I'd rather you know exactly what you're dealing with than press ahead blind to the real cost.
"Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. "
"So he went up during the night along the valley brook, examining the wall, then turned back and came back in through the Valley Gate the way he'd left."
When the direct route to understanding something is blocked, find another way rather than giving up on getting the full picture. I honour the kind of diligence that won't settle for half the truth just because the whole truth is harder to reach.
"And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I 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. "
"The city officials had no idea where he'd gone or what he'd been doing - he hadn't yet told the Jewish leaders, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else who would end up doing the work."
There's wisdom in not rallying people around a plan you haven't yet thought all the way through. I want you to lead people with clarity and readiness, not half-formed ideas dressed up as certainty.
"Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. "
"Then he said to them, 'You can see the trouble we're in - Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let's rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so we won't be a disgrace any longer.'"
If you want to move people to do something hard, start by naming the shared reality honestly, then invite them in as partners, not as people being ordered around. I call people by appealing to who they could become, not by shaming who they've been.
"Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. "
"He told them how God's good hand had been on him, and what the king had said to him. They responded, 'Let's start rebuilding!' And they got to work with real enthusiasm."
When you ask people to join you in something hard, give them real reasons for hope, not just enthusiasm. I want you to inspire people with both truth and possibility together - that combination is what turns willing hearts into willing hands.
"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? "
"But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed them, saying, 'What do you think you're doing? Are you rebelling against the king?'"
When you do something good, expect that some people will twist it into something sinister just to stop you - don't let a false accusation talk you out of a genuinely good work. I know what it is to be falsely accused for doing what was right.
"Then answered I them, and said unto 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. "
"Nehemiah answered them, 'The God of heaven will give us success. We, his servants, will start building - but you have no share, no legal claim, and no historic right in Jerusalem.'"
You don't need to win every argument with someone determined to tear you down - just state the truth plainly and keep working. I give you the kind of quiet confidence that doesn't need the last insult, only the next faithful step.