Nehemiah 2:17-19

New Catholic Bible

¹⁷ Rebuilding Jerusalem’s Walls. Then I said to them: “You now can realize the difficulty we face. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Therefore, we must rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be looked upon as a disgrace.” ¹⁸ Then I told them how God had been so extremely gracious to me, and I also revealed the encouragement that the king had given me. They replied: “Let us begin the rebuilding at once,” and they undertook their work vigorously.

¹⁹ However when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite slave, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they ridiculed and mocked us, saying: “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”