Nehemiah 2:9–20

⁹Then I came to ^athe governors of the provinces beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now ^bthe king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

¹⁰When ^aSanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ¹official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

¹¹So I ^acame to Jerusalem and was there three days.

¹²And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my ¹mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding.

¹³So I went out at night by ^athe Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the ¹Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem ^bwhich were broken down and its ^cgates which were consumed by fire.

¹⁴Then I passed on to ^athe Fountain Gate and ^bthe King’s Pool, but there was no place for ¹my mount to pass.

¹⁵So I went up at night by the ^aravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned.

¹⁶The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.

¹⁷Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that ^aJerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”

¹⁸I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” ^aSo they put their hands to the good work.

¹⁹But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ¹official, and ^aGeshem the Arab heard it, ^bthey mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

²⁰So I answered them and said to them, “^aThe God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, ^bbut you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”