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Nehemiah
Chapter Two
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Nehemiah 2:1. And it came to pass in the month of Nisan
in
the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes
when wine was before him
that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his
presence before.
YLT And it cometh to pass
in the month of Nisan
the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king
wine [is] before him
and I lift up
the wine
and give to the king
and I had not been sad before him;
And it came to
pass in the month Nisan; in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes
....
It was still but in the
twentieth year of his reign; for though Nisan or March was the first month of
the year with the Jews
and from whence the reigns of their kings were datedF12Misn.
Roshhashanah
c. 1. sect. 3. ; yet
with other nations
Tisri or September was
the beginning of the reigns of their kingsF13T. Bab. Rashhashanah
fol. 3. 1. ; so that Chisleu or November being since
see Nehemiah 1:1
it
was no more in Nisan or March than the twentieth of the said king's reign
and
was three or four months after Nehemiah had first heard of the distress of his
people; which time he either purposely spent in fasting and prayer on that
account
or until now his turn did not come about to exercise his office
in
waiting upon the king as his cupbearer: but now it was
that wine was
before him;
the king; it was brought
and set in a proper place
from whence it might be taken for his use:
and I took up
the wine
and gave it to the king;
according to XenophonF14Cyropaedia
l. 1. c. 11.
the cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine
out of the vessels into the cup
and pour some of it into their left hand
and
sup it up
that
if there was any poison in it
the king might not be harmed
and then he delivered it to him upon three fingersF15Vid. Heliodor.
Ethiopic. l. 7. c. 27. :
now I had not
been before time sad in his presence;
but always pleasant and
cheerful
so that the sadness of his countenance was the more taken notice of.
Nehemiah 2:2.
Therefore the king said to me
“Why is your face sad
since
you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I
became dreadfully afraid
YLT and the king saith to me
`Wherefore [is] thy
face sad
and thou not sick? this is nothing except sadness of heart;' and I
fear very much
Wherefore the
king said unto me
why is thy countenance sad
seeing thou art not sick?....
He had no disorder upon
him to change his countenance and make him sorrowful
and therefore asks what
should be the reason of it:
this is nothing
else but sorrow of heart;
this is not owing to any
bodily disease or pain
but some inward trouble of mind; or "wickedness of
heart"F16רע לב
πονηρια καρδιας
Sept.
"malum nescio quod in corde tuo est"
V. L.
some ill design in his
mind
which being conscious of
and thoughtful about
was discovered in his
countenance; he suspected
as Jarchi intimates
a design to kill him
by
putting poison into his cup:
then I was very
sore afraid;
lest the king should have
suspicion of an ill design on him; or lest
since he must be obliged to give
the true reason
he should not succeed in his request
it being so large
and
perhaps many about the king were no friends to the Jews.
Nehemiah 2:3.
and said to the king
“May the king live forever! Why should my
face not be sad
when the city
the place of my fathers’ tombs
lies
waste
and its gates are burned with fire?”
YLT and say to the king
`Let the king to the age live! wherefore should not my face be sad
when the
city
the place of the graves of my fathers
[is] a waste
and its gates have
been consumed with fire?'
And I said unto
the king
let the king live for ever
....
Which some think he said
to take off the king's suspicion of his having a design upon his life
though
it seems to be a common salutation of the kings in those times
see Daniel 6:6
why should not
my countenance be sad
when the city
the place of my fathers' sepulchres
lieth
waste
and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
a man's native place
and
where his ancestors lie interred
being always reckoned near and dear
the king
and his nobles could not object to his being concerned for the desolations
thereof.
Nehemiah 2:4.
Then the king said to me
“What do you request?” So I prayed to
the God of heaven.
YLT And the king saith to me
`For what art thou
seeking?' and I pray unto the God of the heavens
Then the king
said unto me
for what dost thou make request?....
The king supposed that
there was a meaning in those looks and words of his
that he had a favour to
ask of him
and therefore encourages him to it; or the king of himself moved
this
as being desirous of doing anything for him he would propose
to make him
easy:
so I prayed to
the God of heaven;
secretly
in an
ejaculatory way
giving him thanks for thus disposing the king's heart towards
him
and entreating he might be directed what to ask
and in a proper manner
and that he might succeed.
Nehemiah 2:5.
And I said to the king
“If it pleases the king
and if your
servant has found favor in your sight
I ask that you send me to Judah
to the
city of my fathers’ tombs
that I may rebuild it.”
YLT and say to the king
`If to the king [it be]
good
and if thy servant be pleasing before thee
that thou send me unto Judah
unto the city of the graves of my fathers
and I built it.'
And I said unto
the king; if it please the king
and if thy servant have found favour in thy
sight
....
He submits what he had to
say wholly to the pleasure of the king
and puts it upon his unmerited favour
and not on any desert of his own:
that thou
wouldest send me unto Judah
unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres
that I
may build it;
the wall of it
and the
houses in it; the favour was
that he might have leave to go thither
and set
about such a work
for which he was so much concerned.
Nehemiah 2:6.
Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him)
“How
long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to
send me; and I set him a time.
YLT And the king saith to me (and the queen is
sitting near him)
`How long is thy journey? and when dost thou return?' and it
is good before the king
and he sendeth me away
and I set to him a time.
And the king
said unto me
the queen also sitting by him
.... Which it seems was
not very common for the queens of Persia to dine with the kings their husbands;
though this may be observed
not so much for the singularity of it
as for the
providence of God in it
that so it should be
she having a good respect for
Nehemiah
and the Jewish nation
and forwarded the king in his grant to him: if
this king was Darius Hystaspis
this his queen was Atossa
daughter of CyrusF17Herodot.
Polymnia
sive l. 7. c. 1.
who might be the more friendly to the Jews
on
account of her father's great regard unto them:
for how long
shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?
what time would he ask to
do this business in? this shows the king had a great respect for him
and was
loath to part with him
at least for any great length of time:
so it pleased
the king to send me
when he promised to return
unto him
not in twelve years
which was the time of his government in Judea
but in a lesser space
perhaps a year at most
since in less than two months
the wall of Jerusalem was finished; and it may be that he then returned to the
king of Persia
who sent him again under the character of a governor
finding
it was for his interest to have such a man in those parts.
Nehemiah 2:7.
Furthermore I said to the king
“If it pleases the king
let
letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River
[a] that they
must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah
YLT And I say to the king
`If to the king [it
be] good
letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River
that
they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah:
Moreover
I
said unto the king
let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river
....
The river of Euphrates
on
that side of it towards the land of Judea:
that they may
convey me over till I come into Judah;
furnish him with
provisions
and a guard to protect him.
Nehemiah 2:8.
and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest
that he
must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains
to the temple
[b] for the
city wall
and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them
to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
YLT and a letter unto Asaph
keeper of the
paradise that the king hath
that he give to me trees for beams [for] the gates
of the palace that the house hath
and for the wall of the city
and for the
house into which I enter;' and the king giveth to me
according to the good hand
of my God upon me.
And a letter
unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest
....
The forest or mountain of
Lebanon
which
because of its odoriferous and fruit bearing trees
was more
like an orchard or paradise
as this word signifies
and so it is translated in
Ecclesiastes 2:5
and at the extreme part of it
it seems
there was a city called ParadisusF18Ptolem.
Geograph. l. 5. c. 15. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 23. ; such an officer as here
was among the Romans
called SaltuariusF19Vid. Servium in Virgil.
Aeneid. l. 2. ver. 485.
and is now among us:
that he may
give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertaineth to
the house;
not the king's palace near
the temple
for that might have occasioned suspicion in the king
that his view
was to set up himself as king in Judea; but for the gates of the courts
adjoining to the temple
and of the wall of the outward court
and of the wall which
was to encompass the mountain of the house
the whole circumference of it:
and for the
wall of the city;
to make gates of in
various places for that
where they stood before:
and for the
house which I shall enter into; and dwell in during his stay at Jerusalem:
and the king
granted me;
all the above favours:
according to
the good hand of my God upon me;
the kind providence of
God
which wrought on the heart of the king
and disposed it towards him
and
overruled all things for good.
Nehemiah 2:9.
Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the
River
and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the
army and horsemen with me.
YLT And I come in unto the governors beyond the
River
and give to them the letters of the king; and the king sendeth with me
heads of a force
and horsemen;
Then I came to
the governors beyond the river
....
Who these governors were
whether the same who were in the second year of this king's reign eighteen
years ago
Tatnai and Shetharboznai
is not certain:
now the king
had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me;
both to do him honour
and
for his safety; and coming thus attended
must serve to recommend him to the
governor
who received him from them at the river Euphrates
and conducted him
to Judah.
Nehemiah 2:10.
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official[c] heard of
it
they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being
of the children of Israel.
YLT and Sanballat the Horonite heareth
and
Tobiah the servant
the Ammonite
and it is evil to them -- a great evil --
that a man hath come in to seek good for the sons of Israel.
When Sanballat
the Horonite
....
Who either presided at
Horonaim
or sprung from thence
a city of Moab
Isaiah 15:5
and Tobiah the
servant
the Ammonite;
who was formerly a slave
but now raised
from a low mean estate
to be governor in the land of Ammon
though still a vassal of the king of Persia:
heard of it
it
grieved them exceedingly that there came a man to seek the welfare of the
children of Israel;
to which the Moabites and
Ammonites were always averse
and ever bore an hatred to Israel
and envied
everything that tended to their happiness.
Nehemiah 2:11. So I came to Jerusalem and was there three
days.
YLT And I come in unto Jerusalem
and I am there
three days
So I came to
Jerusalem
and was there three days.
Before he entered on any
business
resting himself from the fatigue of the journey
and receiving the
visits of his friends
as Ezra before him did
Ezra 8:32.
Nehemiah 2:12.
Then I arose in the night
I and a few men with me; I told no one
what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal
with me
except the one on which I rode.
YLT and I rise by night
I and a few men with me
and have not declared to a man what my God is giving unto my heart to do for
Jerusalem
and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding.
And I arose in
the might
I and some few men with me
....
Both the season of the
night
and the small number of men to accompany him
were chosen for greater
secrecy
that the business he came upon might not as yet be known
and so no
schemes formed to obstruct or discourage:
neither told I
any man what God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem;
he was satisfied that what
he had in view was from the Lord
who had stirred him up to it
but thought it
prudent for the present to conceal it
until things were prepared to put it in
execution:
neither was
there any beast with me
save the beast that I rode upon;
he only rode perhaps on a
mule
being not yet recovered quite from the fatigue of his journey
and for
the sake of honour; the rest went on foot
that there might be no noise made
and so pass on unheard and unobserved.
Nehemiah 2:13.
And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent
Well and the Refuse Gate
and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken
down and its gates which were burned with fire.
YLT And I go out through the gate of the valley
by night
and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon
and unto the gate
of the dunghill
and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem
that are
broken down
and its gates consumed with fire.
And I went out
by night
by the gate of the valley
....
Where that formerly stood
for the gates had been burnt
and were not as yet rebuilt; this was the gate
that led to the valley of Jehoshaphat
according to some; or rather to the
valley of dead bodies
through which the brook Kidron ran
see 2 Chronicles 26:9
it is the gate through which Christ went to Calvary; it led to Shiloh
Bethhoron
and Golan:
even before the
dragon well;
so called from its winding
about
just as a crooked winding river is called serpentine; though some think
here stood an image of a dragon
either in wood
or stone
or brass
out of the
mouth of which the water flowed from the well; and others
that since the
desolations of Jerusalem
serpents or dragons had their abode here:
and to the dung
port;
by which they used to
carry the dung out of the city
and by which they went to Joppa
the sea
and
all the western parts:
and viewed the
walls of Jerusalem:
in what condition they
were
what was necessary to be wholly taken down
and where to begin to build:
it must have been a moonlight night or he could not have taken a view; for to
have carried torches or lamps with them would have discovered them:
and the gates
thereof were consumed with fire;
nothing of them remained.
Nehemiah 2:14.
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool
but there
was no room for the animal under me to pass.
YLT And I pass over unto the gate of the
fountain
and unto the pool of the king
and there is no place for the beast
under me to pass over
Then I went on
to the pool of the fountain
and to the king's pool.....
That led to the fountain
Siloah or Gihon
so called; it was the way to the potter's field
to Bethlehem
Hebron
Gaza
and Egypt. Rauwolff saysF20Travels
par. 3. c. 3. p.
227. there is still standing on the outside of the valley Tyropaeum (which
distinguishes the two mountains Zion and Moriah) the gate of the fountain
which hath its name
because it leadeth towards the fountain of Siloah
called
the king's pool:
but there was
no place for the beast that was under me to pass;
because of the heaps of
rubbish that lay there.
Nehemiah 2:15.
So I went up in the night by the valley
and viewed the wall; then
I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate
and so returned.
YLT and I am going up through the brook by night
and am measuring about the wall
and turn back
and come in through the gate of
the valley
and turn back.
Then went I up
in the night by the brook
....
The brook Kidron:
and viewed the
wall;
that was on that side:
and turned back;
did not go quite round the
wall
the way perhaps being obstructed with rubbish
and was unpassable or he
had not time to do it:
and entered by
the gate of the valley
and so returned;
into the city
the same
way he went out of it
Nehemiah 2:13.
Nehemiah 2:16.
And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had
done; I had not yet told the Jews
the priests
the nobles
the officials
or
the others who did the work.
YLT And the prefects have not known whither I
have gone
and what I am doing; and to the Jews
and to the priests
and to the
freemen
and to the prefects
and to the rest of those doing the work
hitherto
I have not declared [it];
And the rulers
knew not whither I went
or what I did.....
The rulers of the city of
Jerusalem
who seem to be officers of the king of Persia
since they are
distinguished from Jewish rulers in the next clause:
neither had I
as yet told it to the Jews;
what he came about and
designed to do:
nor to the
priests
nor to the nobles
nor to the rulers;
the principal men among
the Jews
both ecclesiastical and civil:
nor to the rest
that did the work;
of building and repairing;
neither those that were employed in it
nor those that overlooked it.
Nehemiah 2:17.
Then I said to them
“You see the distress that we are in
how Jerusalem lies waste
and its gates are burned with fire. Come and
let us build the wall of Jerusalem
that we may no longer be a reproach.”
YLT and I say unto them
`Ye are seeing the evil
that we are in
in that Jerusalem [is] waste
and its gates have been burnt
with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem
and we are not any more a
reproach.'
Then said I
unto them
....
The priests and princes of
the Jews:
you see the
distress that we are in;
lie open to our enemies
and exposed to their insults:
how Jerusalem
lieth waste
and the gates thereof are burnt with fire
come
and let
us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach;
to their neighbours about
them
who scoffed at them as a defenceless people and frequently came in upon
them
and spoiled and plundered them of their goods and substance.
Nehemiah 2:18.
And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me
and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said
“Let us
rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.
YLT And I declare to them the hand of my God that
is good upon me
and also the words of the king that he said to me
and they
say
`Let us rise
and we have built;' and they strengthen their hands for
good.
Then I told
them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.....
Of the kind providence of
God in exalting him in the court of the king of Persia
in giving him an
opportunity of laying the sad case of Jerusalem before him
and in inclining
his heart to show favour to him
and grant his request:
as also the
king's words that he had spoken to me;
what passed between them
on this subject
the commission he gave him
and the letters he sent by him to
his governors on this side the river:
and they said
let us rise up and build;
encouraged by this account
of things
they proposed to set about the work immediately:
so they
strengthened their hands for this good work;
animated and encouraged
one another to proceed to it at once with cheerfulness
and to go on in it with
spirit and resolution.
Nehemiah 2:19.
But when Sanballat the Horonite
Tobiah the Ammonite official
and
Geshem the Arab heard of it
they laughed at us and despised us
and
said
“What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the
king?”
YLT And Sanballat the Horonite heareth
and
Tobiah the servant
the Ammonite
and Geshem the Arabian
and they mock at us
and despise us
and say
`What [is] this thing that ye are doing? against the
king are ye rebelling?'
But when
Sanballat the Horonite
and Tobiah the servant
the Ammonite
and Geshem the
Arabian
....
This third man might be
both an Arabian by birth
and governor of some part of Arabia near Judea:
heard it;
of their beginning to
build:
they laughed us
to scorn
and despised us;
as very silly people
that
undertook what they could never perform:
and said;
adding threatenings to
their scoffs:
what is this
thing that ye do?
do ye know what ye are
about? have ye any authority to do it? it is unlawful
you will certainly
suffer for it:
will ye rebel
against the king?
the king of Persia; it
will be deemed rebellion and treason
and you will be taken up and treated as
rebels and traitors; take care what you do
be it at your peril if you proceed.
Nehemiah 2:20.
So I answered them
and said to them
“The God of heaven Himself
will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build
but you have
no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
YLT And I return them word
and say to them
`The
God of the heavens -- He doth give prosperity to us
and we His servants rise
and have built; and to you there is no portion
and right
and memorial in
Jerusalem.'
Then answered I
them
and said unto them
....
With much spirit and
boldness
not at all intimidated by their scoffs or threats:
the God of
heaven
he will prosper us;
whom we serve
and under
whose protection we are
who will supply us with everything we want
and
succeed this undertaking
in whose name we engage in it
and on whom we depend
and we care not what man can do to us:
therefore we
his servants will arise and build;
in spite of all
opposition
difficulties
and discouragements:
but you have no
portion
nor right
nor memorial in Jerusalem; no part
of the city belonged to
them; they had no jurisdiction there; they had no name there
nor their
ancestors
in times past; nor had they done anything to perpetuate their memory
in it: in short
they had nothing to do with them
neither in religious nor in
civil things; and it was best for them to mind their own affairs where they
presided
and not trouble themselves about theirs.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Nehemiah 2:7
That is
the Euphrates
and so elsewhere in this book
b.
Nehemiah 2:8
Literally house
c.Nehemiah 2:10
Literally servant
and so elsewhere in this book