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 brothers, came, he and certain men 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 to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken 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 you, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

6 Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you: both I and my father's house have sinned.

7 We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which you commanded your servant Moses.

8 Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9 But if you turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 Now these are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power, and by your strong hand.

11 O LORD, I beseech you, let now your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who desire to fear your name: and prosper, I pray you, your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

Ill News from Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s Prayer

1. The words] better, ’the history.’ Some thirteen or fourteen years separate the visit of Nehemiah to Jerusalem, recorded in this book, from that of Ezra which is related in Ezra 7.

Nehemiah] Nehemiah, as stated in Neh 1:11, occupied an important position at the Persian court, seems to have been a favourite with the king, and probably possessed considerable wealth ( Neh 5:14.). Unlike Ezra (who was of priestly family and a student), he was a layman and a man of action. His career shows that he was self-reliant ( Neh 2:12), energetic (chs.3, 4), shrewd ( Nehemiah 6), and masterful ( Nehemiah 13); but his vigour and determination were directed not to the promotion of his own interests, but to the service of his countrymen, for whom he made great sacrifices. His religious faith was strong, and his prayerfulness is repeatedly illustrated in the narrative: see Neh 1:4; Neh 2:4; Neh 4:4, Neh 4:9, etc.

The month Chisleu] i.e. November-December. In the twentieth year] i.e. of Artaxerxes Longimanus, to whom reference is made in Ezr 4:7; Ezr 7:1. The year intended is probably reckoned to begin with the month of his accession, not with the first calendar month Nisan, since the events that happened in Chisleu, the ninth month, are related before those that occurred in Nisan, Ezr 2:1. The date is 445. But some scholars regard twentieth in this chapter as an error for ’nineteenth’ (446 b.c.). Shushan] i.e. Susa, in Elam. The term palace is strictly ’fortress,’ or ’castle.’

2. Which were left, etc.] i.e. the Jews dwelling at Jerusalem.

3. The province] Judæa was now a province of the Persian empire ( Ezr 5:8). The wall.. broken down] This is most naturally explained by the supposition that some recent attempt had been made to fortify Jerusalem, which had been forcibly stopped; and such an attempt seems described in Ezr 4:7-23. But some authorities suppose the allusion to be to the destruction of the walls by the Babylonians in 586, some 140 years before.

4. Prayed] Nehemiah’s prayer consists of a confession of sin, an appeal to God’s promises, and an entreaty for help in the undertaking he contemplated.