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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Nehemiah 2 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/nehemiah/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/nehemiah/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Nehemiah 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../nehemiah/1.htm" title="Nehemiah 1">◄</a> Nehemiah 2 <a href="../nehemiah/3.htm" title="Nehemiah 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/nehemiah/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”</p><p class="reg">Then I was terrified, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”</p><p class="reg">With a prayer to the God of heaven, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> to protect me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very displeased that someone had come to help the people of Israel.</p><p class="hdg">Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Wall</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>So I arrived in Jerusalem. Three days later, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>After dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>So, though it was still dark, I went up the Kidron Valley<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> instead, inspecting the wall before I turned back and entered again at the Valley Gate.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>The city officials did not know I had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.</p><p class="reg">They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:1 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">In the month of Nisan.</span><span class="ft"> This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred within the months of April and May 445 </span><span class="sc">b.c.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:7 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the province beyond the river;</span><span class="ft"> also in 2:9.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:9 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">charioteers.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:13 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">Serpent’s Well.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:15 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the valley.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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