Print Page Options Listen to Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah Prays for His People

The words of (A)Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the (B)twentieth year, as I was in (C)Shushan[a] the [b]citadel, that (D)Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the (E)province are there in great distress and (F)reproach. (G)The wall of Jerusalem (H)is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

And I said: “I pray, (I)Lord God of heaven, O great and (J)awesome God, (K)You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love [c]You and observe [d]Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and (L)Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and (M)confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. (N)We have acted very corruptly against You, and have (O)not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, (P)If you [e]are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; (Q)but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, (R)though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ 10 (S)Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I pray, please (T)let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who (U)desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

For I was the king’s (V)cupbearer.

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 1:1 Or Susa
  2. Nehemiah 1:1 Or fortified palace, and so elsewhere in the book
  3. Nehemiah 1:5 Lit. Him
  4. Nehemiah 1:5 Lit. His
  5. Nehemiah 1:8 act treacherously

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

The words of (A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in (B)the month Chislev, (C)in the twentieth year, while I was in (D)Susa the [a]capitol, that (E)Hanani, one of my brothers, [b]and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped [c]and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the (F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and (G)disgrace, and (H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and (I)its gates have been burned with fire.”

Now when I heard these words, (J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before (K)the God of heaven. I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, (L)the great and awesome God, (M)who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, (O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; (P)I and my father’s house have sinned. (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances (R)which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘(S)If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I (U)will gather them from there and bring them (V)to the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’ 10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 Please, Lord, (X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to [d]revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.”

Now I was the (Y)cupbearer to the king.

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 1:1 Or acropolis
  2. Nehemiah 1:2 Lit he and men
  3. Nehemiah 1:2 Lit who survived
  4. Nehemiah 1:11 Or fear

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the [a]twentieth year [of the [b]Persian king], as I was in the [c]capitol of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying [constantly] before the God of heaven. And I said, “Please, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You, day and night, on behalf of Your servants, the [d]sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob), confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.(A) Please remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful and violate your obligations to Me I will scatter you [abroad] among the peoples;(B) but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered are in the most remote part of the [e]heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen for My [f]Name to dwell.’(C) 10 Now they are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 Please, O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to [reverently] fear Your Name [Your essence, Your nature, Your attributes, with awe]; and make Your servant successful this day and grant him compassion in the sight of this man [the king].”

For I was [g]cupbearer to the king [of Persia].

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 1:1 445 b.c.
  2. Nehemiah 1:1 Artaxerxes I (son of Xerxes I) ruled the Persian Empire from 465-424 b.c.
  3. Nehemiah 1:1 Or palace or citadel.
  4. Nehemiah 1:6 In general, sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses concerning things such as warfare or circumcision sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies when referring to individual tribal groups, e.g. sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites and so throughout.
  5. Nehemiah 1:9 This seems to be a hypothetical expression, but the grammatical form is that of a real possibility, to emphasize that God will find His people no matter where in the world they may be.
  6. Nehemiah 1:9 See note Deut 12:5.
  7. Nehemiah 1:11 The cupbearer was an official of high rank in royal courts. He served the wine at the king’s table and sometimes tasted it first to be certain it was not poisoned. He was often a trusted confidant of the ruler, and his position was one of influence in the court.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev(A) in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,(B) Hanani,(C) one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant(D) that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.(E)

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.(F) For some days I mourned and fasted(G) and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:

Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God,(H) who keeps his covenant of love(I) with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear(J) the prayer(K) your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess(L) the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly(M) toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

“Remember(N) the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter(O) you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather(P) them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’(Q)

10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.(R) 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive(S) to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor(T) in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer(U) to the king.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.