1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the
twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certainmen of Judah; and I asked them
concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning
Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province arein
great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also isbroken down, and the gates thereof
are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain
days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth
covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy
servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and
confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my
father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the
statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, Ifye
transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But ifye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you
cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yetwill I gather them from thence, and will
bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these arethy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power,
and by thy strong hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the
prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this
day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that
wine wasbefore him: and I took up the wine, and gave itunto the king. Now I had not been
beforetimesad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why isthy countenance sad, seeing thou artnot sick? this
isnothing elsebut sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
3 And 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, liethwaste, and the gates thereof are consumed
with fire?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of
heaven.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 Moreover 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;
8 And 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 appertainedto 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.

9 Then 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.
10 When 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.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I anyman what my God
had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there anybeast with me, save the beast
that I rode upon.
13 And 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.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there wasno place for
the beast that wasunder me to pass.
15 Then 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 soreturned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told itto the
Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we arein, how Jerusalem liethwaste, 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.
18 Then 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 thisgood work.
19 But 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 isthis thing that ye
do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 Then 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.
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep
gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified
it, unto the tower of Hananeel.
2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of
Imri.
3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who alsolaid the beams thereof, and set up
the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
4 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them
repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired
Zadok the son of Baana.
5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of
their Lord.
6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of
Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and
the bars thereof.
7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of
Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.
8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also
repaired Hananiah the son of one ofthe apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the
broad wall.

9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.
10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And
next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and
the tower of the furnaces.
12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of
Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the
doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto
the dung gate.
14 But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem; he
built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of
Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars
thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down
from the city of David.
16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the
placeover against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of
the mighty.
17 After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the
ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part.
18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of
Keilah.
19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over
against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall.
20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of
the wallunto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door
of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.
23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired
Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house.
24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto
the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.
25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out
from the king's high house, that wasby the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of
Parosh.
26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the placeover against the water gate toward
the east, and the tower that lieth out.
27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out,
even unto the wall of Ophel.
28 From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.
29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also
Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate.
30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph,
another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.
31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the
merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.
32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the