Nehemiah 2:10–16

¹⁰When Sanballat the Horonite ^yand Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased. ^z

Preparing to Rebuild the Walls

¹¹After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days, ^a12I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took ^bwas the one I was riding. ¹³I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s ^cWell and the Dung Gate, ^dand I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. ^e14I went on to the Fountain Gate ^fand the King’s Pool, ^gbut farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through. ¹⁵So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate ^hand returned. ¹⁶The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work.