Nehemiah Sent to Judah

Nehemiah 2

1 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. 2 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. 3 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?" 4 Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed c to the God of heaven. 5 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." 6 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. 7 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, 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 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Cross References
    Proverbs 15:13
    A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
  5. 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!
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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