Nehemiah 2:10-6:14

The Voice

¹⁰ In fact, when Sanballat (the Horonite who governed Samaria) and Tobiah (the Ammonite official under him there) heard about what was happening, they were unnerved, distressed that someone was seeking the good of the Israelites left in the land.

¹¹ Nevertheless, my journey continued until I reached Jerusalem. After three days in the city, ¹² under the cover of darkness, I was accompanied by a small group of men. The True God had placed a secret plan on my heart, and there I had left it hidden until the time was right. No one knew what it was I imagined for Jerusalem. With my men walking beside me, I mounted and rode around the city. ¹³ At night I went out of Jerusalem through the valley gate, heading toward the dragon well and down to the potsherd gate where the city dumps its trash. As we went, we examined the walls of Jerusalem: they were as bad as we had heard. No stones remained standing, and fire had consumed the gates. ¹⁴ We continued on toward the fountain gate and the pool of the king, but amid the rubble I was unable to continue riding—there was simply no room— ¹⁵ and so I dismounted and followed along the valley, still under the cover of night, examining the wall as I went. Finally I had seen enough and turned back toward the valley gate, reentering the city the way I had left. ¹⁶ Those who were in charge of Jerusalem did not know where I had gone, much less what I was up to. I had said nothing to anyone—even those who would shortly be doing the work of rebuilding. Everyone was in the dark: common Jews, priests, nobles, and leaders alike.

¹⁸ I told them how my True God had used His power to favor me, evidenced by what the king had said to me.

And so they began the good work. ¹⁹ Our adversaries lost no time, either. Joining Samaritan Governor Sanballat (the Horonite) and Official Tobiah (the Ammonite) was an Arab named Geshem. When they heard of our plans, they mocked and ridiculed us.

3 The sheep gate was first. Led by their brother, the high priest Eliashib, the priests began the work of rebuilding. They framed it,^[a] then they set its doors in place. They proceeded to the tower of the hundred, and after dedicating it they made it as far as the tower of Hananel. ² The men of Jericho partnered with Eliashib, as did Zacur (Imri’s son).

³ Hassenaah’s sons rebuilt the fish gate. They framed it, set its doors in place, then secured it with bolts and bars. ⁴ Meremoth (Hakkoz’s grandson and Uriah’s son) partnered with Hassenaah’s sons in repairing the wall, as did Meshullam (Berechiah’s son and Meshezabel’s grandson) and Zadok (Baana’s son). ⁵ Even the men from Tekoa partnered in the repairs; however, Jerusalem’s long-standing noblemen didn’t support the new leadership’s plans.

⁶ Joiada (Paseah’s son) and Meshullam (Besodeiah’s son) rebuilt the old gate. In the same way, they framed it, set its doors in place, and secured it with bolts and bars. ⁷ The men of Gibeon and Mizpah (that’s the Mizpah where the governor of the Persian Empire beyond the Euphrates River had his capital)—Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite—partnered with them. ⁸ Uzziel the goldsmith (Harhaiah’s son) partnered with them in the repairs, as did Hananiah, a perfumer. The wall they built was the broad wall. ⁹ There, a half-district ruler of Jerusalem named Rephaiah (Hur’s son) partnered with them in the repairs. ¹⁰ Jedaiah (Harumaph’s son) partnered with Rephaiah, working directly across from his own house, as did Hattush (Hashabneiah’s son). ¹¹ Malchijah (Harim’s son) and Hasshub (Pahath-moab’s son) repaired another section and the oven tower. ¹² A half-district ruler named Shallum (Hallohesh’s son) and his daughters partnered with Malchijah.

¹³ Working with the residents of Zanoah, Hanun rebuilt the valley gate. In the same way, they framed it, set its doors in place, and secured it with bolts and bars. They were able to build the wall as far as the potsherd gate—a full 500 yards past where they started.

¹⁴ The ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem rebuilt the potsherd gate. In the same way, he framed it, set its doors in place, then secured it with bolts and bars.

¹⁵ Mizpah’s ruler, Shallum (Col-hozeh’s son) repaired the fountain gate, adding a roof while framing it, setting its doors in place, and securing it with bolts and bars. It fell to him to repair the wall of the pool of Shelah—of the king’s garden—to the steps leading down and away from the city of David.

¹⁶ Nehemiah (Azbuk’s son), who was ruler of the half-district of Beth-zur, built until he was directly across from David’s tombs, which is also where the artificial pool is and the house of the heroes.

¹⁷ Down the wall, the Levites worked: Rehum (Bani’s son), then Hashabiah, the half-district ruler of Keilah who worked on behalf of his own people. ¹⁸ Then came their brothers: Bavvai (Henadad’s son), the other half-district ruler of Keilah. ¹⁹ Ezer (Jeshua’s son), who ruled in Mizpah, partnered with Bavvai on the section of the wall that faced the road leading up to the armory—as far as the point where the wall angles away.^{[b] 20} Then came Baruch (Zabbai’s son), who worked fervently on the section between the angle of the wall and the entrance to High Priest Eliashib’s house. ²¹ From that entrance all the way to the end of Eliashib’s house, Meremoth (Uriah’s son and Hakkoz’s grandson) worked, in addition to the work he had completed next to the fish gate. ²² Priests from the surrounding region repaired the next portion of the wall. ²³ Benjamin and Hasshub worked on sections directly in front of their homes, then Azariah (Maaseiah’s son and Ananiah’s grandson) worked on a section beside his home. ²⁴ From Azariah’s home to the angle and the corner, Binnui (Henadad’s son) completed a second section. ²⁵ Palal (Uzai’s son) worked on the wall section at a point across from both the angle and the place where the upper tower comes out of the palace near the guards’ court. Then came Pedaiah (Parosh’s son) ²⁶ and servants from the temple living on the Ophel’s hill making repairs as far as the point directly across from the water gate to the east and the upper palace tower. ²⁷ The men of Tekoa, who worked without the support of their nobles, worked from that same tower as far as Ophel’s wall.

²⁸ Beyond the horse gate, each priest repaired the wall section in front of his own house, ²⁹ as did Zadok (Immer’s son) and the guard of the east gate, Shemaiah (Shecaniah’s son). ³⁰ Then Hananiah (Shelemiah’s son) and Hanun (Zalaph’s sixth-born son) worked on the next section, and Meshullam (Berechiah’s son) worked on the section across from where he lived. ³¹ Malchijah, a goldsmith, then repaired the wall all the way to the place where the temple servants and the merchants live, the place across from the inspection gate just beyond the room above the corner. ³² The goldsmiths and the merchants were the ones responsible for the final area between that room and the sheep gate.

4 When word of our progress in rebuilding the wall reached Sanballat, he became enraged. His anger spilled over into mockery of the Jews, ² and before his companions and the Samaritan army, he unleashed a torrent of ridicule and abuse.

³ Right beside him, Tobiah the Ammonite joined in the scorn.

⁶ We returned to building, focused and determined to work as one people. We stacked rock upon rock until one end of the wall met the other and it grew to half of its original height.

⁷ When the news that the few remaining gaps in the wall were rapidly closing and our city was beginning to heal reached all the lands surrounding Jerusalem, Sanballat, Tobiah, some Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites all became furious. ⁸ In fact, they were so upset they devised a plot to attack Jerusalem and create confusion. ⁹ Our response to this threat was twofold: we prayed to our True God, and we set up a watch—day and night—to look out for them. ¹⁰ Even so, everyone was afraid of another attack.

¹¹ And our enemies spread the word.

¹² Next we were confronted by the Jews who lived near our enemies. Over and over again^[c] they warned us.

¹³ So I strengthened our defenses. I placed men armed with anything they had on hand—the swords, spears, and bows they used to hunt—at the vulnerable low sections along the wall that were exposed. I organized them by families. ¹⁴ I stood up and addressed those gathered: nobles, officials, anyone who was close at hand.

¹⁵ Our enemies had intended to defeat us through surprise, but they learned we were aware of their plan and ready for their attack. The True God had frustrated them, and so we went back to work on the wall at our assigned places. ¹⁶ From that day on, I divided my people into two groups. One group worked on the wall while the other stood guard fully prepared for battle in armor, shields, spears, and bows. Officers were close at hand, posted right behind the Judean builders. ^17-18 The builders did their work—now with swords strapped to their sides. Even common laborers carrying building materials did so while carrying a weapon. I kept the man whose responsibility it was to warn everyone of attack by sounding the trumpet with me at all times. ¹⁹ Once again I addressed the nobles, the officials, and the gathered people.

²¹ From the time the sun broke over the horizon until it set again and stars filled the sky, we kept working—half of them holding spears.

²³ We all slept in our clothes—my kinsmen, my servants, and the guards I commanded. And we never set our weapons down, even when we went to get water.

5 As time went on a different kind of conflict arose—common men and their wives cried out against some of their fellow Jews.

⁶ When I heard this outcry, these charges filled me with anger. ⁷ After reflecting over what to do, I determined to confront those responsible directly: the Jewish nobles and the officials who represented Araxerxes’ interests in Jerusalem.

And a great many people assembled to witness my sentencing of the leaders.

There was nothing they could say; their silence confirmed their guilt.

I called the priests to join us and had these men make oaths before the gathering so that they would be held accountable to do what they promised. ¹³ I shook out my robe.

Everyone who had gathered in our assembly to witness this praised the Eternal and gave their benediction saying, “So may it be.”

All the people did as they promised. ¹⁴ As long as I had been appointed governor in Judah—for the 12 years from the 20th to the 32nd year of King Artaxerxes’ reign over the Persian Empire—no one in my family took a salary from the food tax the empire levied. ¹⁵ Every governor who had come before me had exploited his authority and levied a stiff tax—a pound of silver a day—and taken food and wine to supply his own table, often using unmerciful servants to extract this payment. But my fear of the True God kept me from ever acting in the same way. ¹⁶ (All my attention and resources were devoted to rebuilding the wall. Land acquisition was not the goal of my followers or me.) ¹⁷ I went beyond that, however. I also supplied food for 150 Jews and officials—in addition to diplomats from the surrounding pagan nations. ¹⁸ All were fed at my table at my expense: each day an ox, 6 of my best sheep, and some birds were prepared and served alongside a variety of wines that were resupplied every 10 days. Even with all of this expense and effort, I never demanded the food tax which would have been mine to claim as governor because I could see how hard life was for the people and what these demands would cost them.

6 Once again, we found that our progress had been reported to our enemies. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab (as well as the rest of our adversaries) heard that under my leadership the wall had been rebuilt. Not one gap remained (though the doors still had to be hung on the gates). ² Sanballat and Geshem sent messengers to me.

They were planning to hurt me. ³ So instead of going, I sent messengers back to them.

⁴ This same exchange played out four different times: they asked for a meeting; I refused.

⁵ The fifth time I was approached by a servant of Sanballat. He came with the same message, but this time he also carried an unsealed letter in his hand.

⁸ My message back to him was simple.

⁹ We knew our enemies’ intent was to intimidate us into stopping our work. They reasoned, “These Jews will stop rebuilding out of fear and discouragement. Progress will grind to a halt.” Instead I renewed my dedication, strengthened my hands.

¹⁰ A little later, I went to see Shemaiah (Delaiah’s son and Mehetabel’s grandson) who was shut up inside his house.

^12-13 While I was speaking these words, I realized God had not sent him to me. God would never tell me to break His laws. Shemaiah’s prophecy was “inspired” by the money of Tobiah and Sanballat. After hearing his message, they thought I would be scared and thus vulnerable to sin. They hoped to use such a lapse in behavior to discredit me.