¹⁰Sanballat and Tobiah heard about what was happening. They were very upset that someone had come to work for the good of Israel’s people. Sanballat was a Horonite. Tobiah was an official from Ammon.

Nehemiah Checks Out the Walls of Jerusalem

¹¹I went to Jerusalem. I stayed there for three days. ¹²Then at night I took a few men with me to check out the walls. I hadn’t told anyone what my God wanted me to do for Jerusalem. There weren’t any donkeys with me except the one I was riding on.

¹³That night I went out through the Valley Gate. I went toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate. I checked out the walls of Jerusalem. They had been broken down. I also checked the city gates. Fire had burned them up. ¹⁴I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool. But there wasn’t enough room for my donkey to get through. ¹⁵It was still night. I went up the Kidron Valley. I kept checking the wall. Finally, I turned back. I went back in through the Valley Gate.

¹⁶The officials didn’t know where I had gone. They didn’t know what I had done either. That’s because I hadn’t said anything to anyone yet. I hadn’t told the priests or nobles or officials. And I hadn’t spoken to any others who would be rebuilding the wall.

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