Passage
Nehemiah 2.17
17. Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, 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. (ASV)Book: Nehemiah · NASB95
Immediate context (±2 verses)
There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.
Sponsored
Brands, events, influencers advertise here
ASV
15. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. 16. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to 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 evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, 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.
- And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of 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 the good 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 is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? (Nehemiah 2:15-19, ASV)
WEB
15. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and inspected the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. 16. The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did. I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.
17. Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we won’t be disgraced.”
- I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. They said, “Let’s rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammontite servant, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they ridiculed us, and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:15-19, WEB)
KJV
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 so returned. 16. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to 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 are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, 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.
- 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 this good 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 is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? (Nehemiah 2:15-19, KJV)
YLT
15. 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. 16. 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];
17. 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.'
- 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. 19. 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?' (Nehemiah 2:15-19, YLT)
See this page's graph and discover linked topics
Setting
- Speaker: Nehemiah, speaking to the leaders of Jerusalem
- Audience: "the Jews ... the priests ... the nobles ... the rulers, [and] the rest that did the work" (Nehemiah 2:16)
- Location: Jerusalem, after his night inspection of the walls (Nehemiah 2:12-16)
- Time period: the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1), c. 445 BC
Theological reading
Nehemiah speaks only after he has seen the ruins himself (Nehemiah 2:12-15). He includes himself in the trouble, "Ye see the evil case that we are in," though he had come from the king's palace. The KJV renders it "the distress" with ra (Strong's H7451), the same word used of his "sad" face before the king (2:2).
The goal is stated in terms of reproach: "let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." The report that first moved him had said the remnant was "in great affliction and reproach" (1:3), and later he warns the nobles against conduct that gives cause for "the reproach of the nations our enemies" (5:9). The broken wall was a public shame on the people who bore God's name.
His appeal rests on two facts: "the hand of my God which was good upon me" and "the king's words that he had spoken unto me" (2:18). The response is immediate, "Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work." When mocked, he answers on God's authority: "The God of heaven, he will prosper us" (2:20).
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.
- H7451 - ra, ra, Strong's H7451
Notes
Your annotations.
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.