Nehemiah 1 - 2
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The words of a Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of b Chislev, c in the twentieth year, as I was in d Susa the capital,
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that e Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
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And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and f shame. g The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, h and its gates are destroyed by fire."
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As soon as I heard these words I i sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the j God of heaven.
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And I said, "O Lord God of heaven, k the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
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l let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, m confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even n I and my father's house have sinned.
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o We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules p that you commanded your servant Moses.
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Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, q I will scatter you among the peoples,
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r but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, s though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them t to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.'
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u They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
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O Lord, l let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Now I was v cupbearer to the king.
Nehemiah 2
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In the month of Nisan, w in the twentieth year of King x Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, y I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
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And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but z sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid.
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I said to the king, a "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, b when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
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Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed c to the God of heaven.
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And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it."
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And the king said to me ( d the queen sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me e when I had given him a time.
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And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me f to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,
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and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of g the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, h for the good hand of my God was upon me.
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Then I came to i the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
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But when j Sanballat the Horonite and k Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
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l So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.
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Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
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I went out by night by m the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to n the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem o that were broken down p and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
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Then I went on to q the Fountain Gate and to r the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.
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Then I went up in the night s by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
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And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
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Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, t how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer u suffer derision."
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And I told them v of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." w So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
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But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and x Geshem the Arab heard of it, y they jeered at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? z Are you rebelling against the king?"
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Then I replied to them, a "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem."
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Cross References
Nehemiah 10:1
On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah.
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Cross References
Zechariah 7:1
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:1
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
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Cross References
Esther 1:2
In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the capital.
Esther 1:5
And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa, the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
Esther 2:3
And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the capital, under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them.
Esther 2:5
Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 7:2
I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:13
I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
2 Kings 25:10
And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:3
I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
Nehemiah 2:13
I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.
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Cross References
Ezra 9:3
As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:4
Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 9:32
Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.
Daniel 9:4
I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:21
You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.
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Cross References
Daniel 9:18
O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.
1 Kings 8:29
That your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.
2 Chronicles 6:40
Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.
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Cross References
Ezra 10:1
While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly.
Daniel 9:20
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God.
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Cross References
Psalms 106:6
Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
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Cross References
Daniel 9:5
We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:15
But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
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Cross References
Leviticus 26:33
And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
Deuteronomy 28:64
And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
Deuteronomy 4:25 - 27
When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger.
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Cross References
Leviticus 26:39 - 42
And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies' lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.
Deuteronomy 4:29 - 31
But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 30:2 - 3
And return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 30:4
If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 12:5
But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 9:29
For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 1:6
Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:1
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 1:1
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital.
Nehemiah 5:14
Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
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Cross References
Ezra 7:1
Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 1:11
O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Now I was cupbearer to the king.
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Cross References
Proverbs 15:13
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
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Cross References
1 Kings 1:31
Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to the king and said, "May my lord King David live forever!
Daniel 2:4
Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
Daniel 5:10
The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, "O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.
Daniel 6:21
Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever!
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:13
I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.
Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:20
Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 1:4 - 5
As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Ezra 5:12
But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia.
Daniel 2:18
And told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
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Cross References
Psalms 45:9
Daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 5:14
Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
Nehemiah 13:6
While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king
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Cross References
Ezra 8:36
They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 7:2
I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:18
And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
Ezra 7:6
This Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.
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Cross References
Ezra 8:36
They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the ...
Nehemiah 4:1
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building ...
Nehemiah 4:7
But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and...
Nehemiah 6:1 - 2
Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Ar...
Nehemiah 6:5
In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time se...
Nehemiah 6:12
And I understood and saw that God had not sent ...
Nehemiah 6:14
Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, accord...
Nehemiah 13:28
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eli...
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Cross References
Nehemiah 13:4
Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah.
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Cross References
Ezra 8:32
We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 3:13
Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.
2 Chronicles 26:9
Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 3:13 - 14
Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.
Nehemiah 12:31
Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:3
I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 3:15
And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king's garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David.
Nehemiah 12:37
At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.
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Cross References
2 Kings 20:20
The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Nehemiah 3:16
After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.
2 Chronicles 32:3
He planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him.
2 Chronicles 32:30
This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 15:23
And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people passed on toward the wilderness.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:3
I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
Nehemiah 2:13
I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me, "The remnant there in the ...
Psalms 44:13
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, th...
Psalms 79:4
We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked...
Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms o...
Ezekiel 5:14 - 15
Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an o...
Ezekiel 22:4
You have become guilty by the blood that you ha...
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:8
And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 2:7
Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 6:6
In it was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 4:1
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
Psalms 44:13
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 6:6
In it was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 2:4
Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.