Through the Bible – Day 168

₁I am Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and in this book I tell what I have done.

During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes ruled Persia, I was in his fortress city of Susa, ₂when my brother Hanani came with some men from Judah. So I asked them about the Jews who had escaped from being captives in Babylonia. I also asked them about the city of Jerusalem.

₃They told me, “Those captives who have come back are having all kinds of troubles. They are terribly disgraced, Jerusalem's walls are broken down, and its gates have been burnt.”

₄When I heard this, I sat down and cried. Then for several days, I mourned; I went without eating to show my sorrow, and I prayed:

₁During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king, I served him his wine, as I had done before. But this was the first time I had ever looked depressed. ₂So the king said, “Why do you look so sad? You're not sick. Something must be bothering you.”

Even though I was frightened, ₃I answered, “Your Majesty, I hope you live for ever! I feel sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burnt down.”

₄The king asked, “What do you want me to do?”

I prayed to the God who rules from heaven. ₅Then I told the king, “Sir, if it's all right with you, please send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

₆The queen was sitting beside the king when he asked me, “How long will it take, and when will you be back?” The king agreed to let me go, and I told him when I would return.

₇Then I asked, “Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the River Euphrates, so that I can travel safely to Judah? ₈I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest.” God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked.

₉The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I travelled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors. ₁₀But when Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.

₁₁Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, ₁₂I got up during the night and left my house. I took some men with me, without telling anyone what I thought God wanted me to do for the city. The only animal I took was the donkey I rode on. ₁₃I went through Valley Gate on the west, then south past Dragon Spring, before coming to Rubbish Gate. As I rode along, I took a good look at the crumbled walls of the city and the gates that had been torn down and burnt. ₁₄On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the path became too narrow for my donkey. ₁₅So I went down to Kidron Valley and looked at the wall from there. Then before daylight I returned to the city through Valley Gate.

₁₆None of the city officials knew what I had in mind. And I had not even told any of the Jews—not the priests, the leaders, the officials, or any other Jews who would be helping in the work. ₁₇But when I got back, I said to them, “Jerusalem is truly in a mess! The gates have been torn down and burnt, and everything is in ruins. We must rebuild the city wall so that we can again take pride in our city.”

₁₈Then I told them how kind God had been and what the king had said.

Immediately, they replied, “Let's start building now!” So they got everything ready.

₁₉When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about our plans, they started insulting us and saying, “Just look at you! Do you plan to rebuild the walls of the city and rebel against the king?”

₂₀I answered, “We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history.”

₁These are the people who helped rebuild the wall and gates of Jerusalem:

₁₇The Levites who worked on the next sections of the wall were Rehum son of Bani; Hashabiah, who ruled half of the district of Keilah and did this work for his district; ₁₈Binnui son of Henadad, who ruled the other half of the district of Keilah; ₁₉Ezer son of Jeshua, who ruled Mizpah, rebuilt the section of the wall that was in front of the armoury and reached to the corner of the wall; ₂₀Baruch son of Zabbai eagerly rebuilt the section of the wall that went all the way to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest; ₂₁Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, built up to the far end of Eliashib's house.

₂₂Here is a list of the priests who worked on the wall:

₄₃Everyone was amazed by the many miracles and wonders that the apostles performed. ₄₄All the Lord's followers often met together, and they shared everything they had. ₄₅They would sell their property and possessions and give the money to whoever needed it. ₄₆Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, ₄₇while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.

₁The time of prayer was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Peter and John were going into the temple. ₂A man who had been born lame was being carried to the temple door. Each day he was placed beside this door, known as the Beautiful Gate. He sat there and begged from the people who were going in.

₃The man saw Peter and John entering the temple, and he asked them for money. ₄But they looked straight at him and said, “Look up at us!”

₅The man stared at them and thought he was going to get something. ₆But Peter said, “I don't have any silver or gold! But I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and start walking.” ₇Peter then took him by the right hand and helped him up.

At once the man's feet and ankles became strong, ₈and he jumped up and started walking. He went with Peter and John into the temple, walking and jumping and praising God. ₉Everyone saw him walking around and praising God. ₁₀They knew that he was the beggar who had been lying beside the Beautiful Gate, and they were completely surprised. They could not imagine what had happened to the man.