Nehemiah 1

Report from Jerusalem

1 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 1 the 2 citadel,
2 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. 3 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."

Nehemiah's Prayer

4 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. 5 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 3 You 4 and observe 5 Your 6 commandments, 6 "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. 7 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. 8 "Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, p 'If you 7 are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 8 9 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.' 9 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.

  1. Cross References
    Nehemiah 10:1
    Now those who placed their seal on the document were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah.
  2. Cross References
    Nehemiah 2:1
    And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
  3. Cross References
    Esther 1:1
    Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia).
    Esther 1:2
    In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel.
    Esther 1:5
    And when these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
    Daniel 8:2
    I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.
  4. Cross References
    Nehemiah 7:2
    That I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
  5. Cross References
    Nehemiah 7:6
    These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city.
  6. Cross References
    Nehemiah 2:17
    Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.
  7. Cross References
    Nehemiah 2:17
    Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.
  8. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:10
    And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.
  9. Cross References
    Daniel 9:4
    And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments.
  10. Cross References
    Nehemiah 4:14
    And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 20:6
    But showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
    Exodus 34:6
    And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.
    Exodus 34:7
    "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."
    Psalms 89:2
    For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.
    Psalms 89:3
    I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:
  12. Cross References
    1 Kings 8:28
    Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:
    1 Kings 8:29
    That Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
    2 Chronicles 6:40
    Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.
    Daniel 9:17
    Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
    Daniel 9:18
    O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
  13. Cross References
    Ezra 10:1
    Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.
    Nehemiah 9:2
    Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
    Daniel 9:20
    Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God.
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 106:6
    We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly.
    Daniel 9:5
    We have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
  15. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:15
    But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
  16. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:33
    I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
    Deuteronomy 4:25 - 27
    When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger.
    Deuteronomy 28:63 - 67
    And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.
  17. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:39
    And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in their fathers' iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
    Deuteronomy 4:29 - 31
    But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
    Deuteronomy 30:2 - 5
    And you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul.
  18. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 30:4
    If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.
  19. Cross References
    Exodus 32:11
    Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: "LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
    Deuteronomy 9:29
    'Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.'
    Daniel 9:15
    And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day - we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
  20. Cross References
    Nehemiah 1:6
    Please let Your ear be attentive and 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 confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 26:8
    Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You; The desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of You.
    Hebrews 13:18
    Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 40:21
    Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.
    Nehemiah 2:1
    And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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