Nehemiah Asks the King to Send Him to Judah to Rebuild It |
Nehemiah 2:1-20 The Book of Nehemiah in [Smaller Chunks] |
And it [happened] in the month [of] Nisan, in the 20th year, king Artaxerxes [ruled,] & wine was [in front of] him. And I, [a.k.a. Nehemiah, picked] up the wine, & gave it to the king. Now, I had not been sad [before this time,] in his presence. [For this reason,] the king said to me, Why is your [face] sad, [since] you aren’t sick? |
This is nothing else, but [heartfelt] sorrow. Then, I was very afraid, & said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why shouldn’t my [face] be sad, when the city, the place of my [forefathers’ tombs lies in] waste, & [its] gates are [destroyed] with fire? |
Then, the king said to me, For what [do] you request? So, I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, If it [pleases] the king, & if your servant [has] found favor in your sight, [I request:] that you [would] send me to Judah, to the city of my [forefathers’ tombs, so] that I may [rebuild] it. |
And the king said to me, (the queen, [was] also sitting by him,) For how long will your journey [take?] And when [will] you return? So, it pleased the king to send me, & I [gave] him a set time. |
[Also,] I said to the king, If it [pleases] the king, let letters be given [to] me [for] the governors, beyond the [Euphrates] River, [so] that they may [escort] me over, [until] I come into Judah? |
And [also,] a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, [so] that he may give me [lumber] to make beams for the gates of the palace, which [pertain] to the [Lord’s] house, the wall of the city, & for the house that I shall [stay at.] |
And according to the good hand of my God upon me, the king granted [it to] me. Then, I came to the governors beyond the [Euphrates] River, & gave them the king’s letters. Now, the king had sent captains of the army, & horsemen with me. |
When Sanballat, the Horonite, & the servant, Tobiah, the Ammonite, heard of it, [they] [were] exceedingly grieved, that a man [had] come there, to seek the welfare of the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel. |
So, I came to Jerusalem, & was there 3 days. And I [got up] in the night, [with] a few men, [without] [telling anyone] what my God had put in my heart to do [in] Jerusalem. Neither was there any [animal] with me, [except] the [animal] that I rode upon. |
And [at] night, I [left] by the Valley Gate, & even [in front of] the Dragon Well, [a.k.a. The Serpent Well,] [all the way to] the [garbage gate, & saw] the walls of Jerusalem, [that] were broken down, & [their] gates were [destroyed by] fire. |
Then, I went to the Fountain Gate, & to the King’s Pool, but there wasn’t [a] place for the [animal] that [I] [was riding] to pass [through.] Then, I went up in the night by the brook, & [looked at] the wall, & turned back, & entered [through] the Valley Gate, & returned. |
And the rulers, [a.k.a. officials, didn’t know where] I went, or what I did. Neither had I told it to: the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the rulers, [a.k.a. officials,] nor to the rest [who] did the work. Then, I said to them, You see the distress we are in, & how Jerusalem [lies in ruins,] & [its] gates are burned with fire. |
Come, let’s [rebuild] the wall of Jerusalem, [so] we [are] no [longer] a [disgrace.] Then, I told them, [about] the [gracious] hand of my God, [Who] was upon me [for] good. Also, [about what] the king had spoken to me. |
And they said, Let’s rise up, & [start] [rebuilding.] So, they strengthened their hands [to do] this good work. But when Sanballat, the Horonite, & the servant, Tobiah, the Ammonite, & Geshem, the Arabian, heard it, & they laughed [at] us [scornfully,] & despised us. |
[They] said, What [are] you [doing?] Will you rebel against the king? Then, I answered them, The God of heaven, He will [make] us [able to] prosper. Therefore, we, His servants, will [rise] [up,] & [rebuild.] But you [don’t] have [any] portion, [a.k.a. heritage rights,] nor memorial, in Jerusalem. |
[Ezra 4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, & the rest of the [leaders of the forefathers’ families] of Israel, said to them, You have nothing to do with us to [rebuild] a house to our God. But we, ourselves, will [rebuild it] together, & will build [it for] the Lord God of Israel, [like] king Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.] |
And I heard, but [didn't understand.] Then, I said, O my Lord, What shall be the end of these things? And He said, Go [on] your way, Daniel: for the Words are closed up and sealed till the time of the End. Daniel 12:8-9 KJV
About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible:
About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible: Since the Lord had it on my heart to write this blog, I was uncertain of how to accomplish this, mindful of Revelation 22:18-19, which says that nobody is to add to, or to take away from what was written in the Bible. After lots of prayerful contemplation, the Lord had it on my heart that I’m not to change the meaning of what is written in the Bible. He has also shown ways to add to people’s understating of that meaning, without altering the meaning, by putting that info within [brackets]. This is primarily accomplished with the KJV Bible and lots of prayers, but at times, BibleGateway.com, Biblehub.com, NIV Bible, Webster Dictionary, and other internet resources, as needed. Debra Seiling
About Understanding the Bible:
Understanding the Bible: After reading Isaiah 28:10 many times over the years and not totally understanding it, it recently became apparent to me that the Lord God has this passage as the means for understanding the Bible.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:10 KJV.
Being prayerful about this passage, and looking up 'precept' in the Webster's Dictionary, it gave this passage a whole new meaning, once 'commandment' is substituted for 'precept'. Within brackets are additional words the Lord had on my heart to aid in understanding the meaning.
For commandment must be [built up] upon commandment; commandment upon commandment; line upon line, line upon line; [developing understanding] here a little, and there a little.
The Table Format:
The Table Format: I was overwhelmed with how to explain the process for determining if someone had leprosy in Leviticus 13, which seemed very complicated. After praying, "Lord, if this is difficult for me to understand after reading it many times, how can this be explained to others?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was for me to put it into a vertical chart to visually see the process. This made it much easier for me to follow the progression. After doing so, I prayed, "Lord, how can this be conveyed to readers, so that they can understand this process?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was to put it within the lines of a table. Being a stiff-necked, stubborn person, as it's often called in the Bible, I prayed, asking the Lord God if He's sure that's really what He wanted me to do? I reluctantly put Leviticus 13 into a table format. When I read this difficult leprosy process within a table format, it suddenly became easier for me to understand. That's because it builds line upon line, as explained in the Understanding the Bible section. Shortly after that, the Lord God had it on my heart, to put all of The Books of the Bible in Smaller Chunks within a table format, to aid in understanding, line upon line.
By 2/20/26 All Chapters of the Bible [in Smaller Chunks] Will Be Posted. If you want to read any chapters, just Click the desired Book of the Bible on the Right, and Click on the chapters of that Book of the Bible you want to read. My personal recommendation for those who are just beginning reading the Bible, is to start in the New Testament first.