Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah · Chapter 2

Nehemiah 2:11

1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.2Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,3And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.6And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;8And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.9Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.10When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.13And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.14Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.17Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.18Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and I cameוָאָב֖וֹאva-'a-VO'H0935G
to come (in): come

בּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put

toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םye-ru-sha-LIMH3389
Ariel

אֲרִיאֵל (a.ri.el) Ariel = "lion of God" or "lioness of God" Another name of ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)

and I wasוָאֱהִי־va-'e-hi-H1961
to be

הָיָה (ha.yah) 1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) --- 1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass 1a1b) to come about, come to pass 1a2) to come into being, become 1a2a) to arise, appear, come 1a2b) to become 1a2b1) to become 1a2b2) to become like 1a2b3) to be instituted, be established 1a3) to be 1a3a) to exist, be in existence 1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) 1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality) 1a3d) to accompany, be with 1b) (Niphal) …

thereשָׁ֖םshamH8033G
there

שָׁם (sham) 1) there, thither 1a) there 1b) thither (after verbs of motion) 1c) from there, thence 1d) then (as an adverb of time) Aramaic equivalent: tam.mah (תַּמָּה "there" H8536)

daysיָמִ֥יםya-MIMH3117G
day

יוֹם (yom) : day/when/time/period 1) day, time, year 1a) day (as opposed to night) 1b) day (24 hour period) 1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1 1b2) as a division of time 1b2a) a working day, a day's journey 1c) days, lifetime (pl.) 1d) time, period (general) 1e) year 1f) temporal references 1f1) today 1f2) yesterday 1f3) tomorrow

threeשְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃she-lo-SHAHH7969
three

שָׁלֹשׁ (sha.losh) 1) three, triad 1a) 3, 300, third Aramaic equivalent: te.lat (תְּלָת "three" H8532)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.