Nehemiah 2 – read and compare multiple versions of the Bible

World English Bible

Nehemiah 2 (WEBP)

[1] In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I picked up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence.
[2] The king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
[3] I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why shouldn’t my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?”
[4] Then the king said to me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
[5] I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may build it.”
[6] The king said to me (the queen was also sitting by him), “How long will your journey be? When will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time for him.
[7] Moreover I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah;
[8] and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house that I will occupy.” The king granted my requests, because of the good hand of my God on 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 Ammonite servant heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
[11] So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
[12] I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There wasn’t any animal with me except the animal that I rode on.
[13] I went out by night by the valley gate toward the jackal’s well, then to the dung gate; and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and its gates were consumed with fire.
[14] Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king’s pool, but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.
[15] Then I went 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’s build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we won’t be disgraced.”
[18] I told them about the hand of my God which was good on me, and also about 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 Ammonite 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?”
[20] Then I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven will prosper us. Therefore we, his servants, will arise and build; but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.”

Scripture quotations are taken from The World English Bible™ of eBible.org, 2020 stable text edition. It is in the public domain.

King James w/Strong’s #s

Nehemiah 2 (KJVS)

[1] And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
[2] Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but 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, lieth waste, 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 appertained to 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 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 any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast 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 was no place for the beast that was under 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 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.
[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 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?
[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.

Nehemiah 2:6 Heb. wife

Scripture quotations from The Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible, using the standardized text of 1769. It is in the public domain.

Greek Bible (LXX/BYZ)

Nehemiah 2 (BYZ)

[1] Καὶ () ἐγένετο () ἐν () μηνὶ () Νισαν ἔτους () εἰκοστοῦ Αρθασασθα βασιλεῖ () καὶ () ἦν () ὁ () οἶνος () ἐνώπιον () ἐμοῦ, () καὶ () ἔλαβον () τὸν () οἶνον () καὶ () ἔδωκα () τῷ () βασιλεῖ, () καὶ () οὐκ () ἦν () ἕτερος () ἐνώπιον () αὐτοῦ· ()
[2] καὶ () εἶπέν () μοι () ὁ () βασιλεύς () Διὰ () τί () τὸ () πρόσωπόν () σου () πονηρὸν () καὶ () οὐκ () εἶ () μετριάζων; Οὐκ () ἔστιν () τοῦτο () εἰ () μὴ () πονηρία () καρδίας. () Καὶ () ἐφοβήθην () πολὺ () σφόδρα. ()
[3] Καὶ () εἶπα () τῷ () βασιλεῖ () Ὁ () βασιλεὺς () εἰς () τὸν () αἰῶνα () ζήτω· () διὰ () τί () οὐ () μὴ () γένηται () πονηρὸν () τὸ () πρόσωπόν () μου, () διότι () ἡ () πόλις, () οἶκος () μνημείων () πατέρων () μου, () ἠρημώθη () καὶ () αἱ () πύλαι () αὐτῆς () κατεβρώθησαν ἐν () πυρί; ()
[4] Καὶ () εἶπέν () μοι () ὁ () βασιλεύς () Περὶ () τίνος () τοῦτο () σὺ () ζητεῖς; () Καὶ () προσηυξάμην () πρὸς () τὸν () θεὸν () τοῦ () οὐρανοῦ ()
[5] καὶ () εἶπα () τῷ () βασιλεῖ () Εἰ () ἐπὶ () τὸν () βασιλέα () ἀγαθόν, () καὶ () εἰ () ἀγαθυνθήσεται ὁ () παῖς () σου () ἐνώπιόν () σου () ὥστε () πέμψαι () αὐτὸν () εἰς () Ιουδα εἰς () πόλιν () μνημείων () πατέρων () μου, () καὶ () ἀνοικοδομήσω () αὐτήν. ()
[6] Καὶ () εἶπέν () μοι () ὁ () βασιλεὺς () καὶ () ἡ () παλλακὴ ἡ () καθημένη () ἐχόμενα () αὐτοῦ () Ἕως () πότε () ἔσται () ἡ () πορεία () σου () καὶ () πότε () ἐπιστρέψεις; () Καὶ () ἠγαθύνθη ἐνώπιον () τοῦ () βασιλέως, () καὶ () ἀπέστειλέν () με, () καὶ () ἔδωκα () αὐτῷ () ὅρον.
[7] Καὶ () εἶπα () τῷ () βασιλεῖ () Εἰ () ἐπὶ () τὸν () βασιλέα () ἀγαθόν, () δότω () μοι () ἐπιστολὰς () πρὸς () τοὺς () ἐπάρχους πέραν () τοῦ () ποταμοῦ () ὥστε () παραγαγεῖν () με, () ἕως () ἔλθω () ἐπὶ () Ιουδαν, ()
[8] καὶ () ἐπιστολὴν () ἐπὶ () Ασαφ φύλακα () τοῦ () παραδείσου, () ὅς () ἐστιν () τῷ () βασιλεῖ, () ὥστε () δοῦναί () μοι () ξύλα () στεγάσαι τὰς () πύλας () καὶ () εἰς () τὸ () τεῖχος () τῆς () πόλεως () καὶ () εἰς () οἶκον, () ὃν () εἰσελεύσομαι () εἰς () αὐτόν. () Καὶ () ἔδωκέν () μοι () ὁ () βασιλεὺς () ὡς () χεὶρ () θεοῦ () ἡ () ἀγαθή. ()
[9] Καὶ () ἦλθον () πρὸς () τοὺς () ἐπάρχους πέραν () τοῦ () ποταμοῦ () καὶ () ἔδωκα () αὐτοῖς () τὰς () ἐπιστολὰς () τοῦ () βασιλέως, () καὶ () ἀπέστειλεν () μετ’ () ἐμοῦ () ὁ () βασιλεὺς () ἀρχηγοὺς () δυνάμεως () καὶ () ἱππεῖς. ()—
[10] καὶ () ἤκουσεν () Σαναβαλλατ ὁ () Αρωνι καὶ () Τωβια ὁ () δοῦλος () ὁ () Αμμωνι, καὶ () πονηρὸν () αὐτοῖς () ἐγένετο () ὅτι () ἥκει () ἄνθρωπος () ζητῆσαι () ἀγαθὸν () τοῖς () υἱοῖς () Ισραηλ. ()
[11] Καὶ () ἦλθον () εἰς () Ιερουσαλημ () καὶ () ἤμην () ἐκεῖ () ἡμέρας () τρεῖς. ()
[12] Καὶ () ἀνέστην () νυκτὸς () ἐγὼ () καὶ () ἄνδρες () ὀλίγοι () μετ’ () ἐμοῦ· () καὶ () οὐκ () ἀπήγγειλα () ἀνθρώπῳ () τί () ὁ () θεὸς () δίδωσιν () εἰς () καρδίαν () μου () τοῦ () ποιῆσαι () μετὰ () τοῦ () Ισραηλ, () καὶ () κτῆνος () οὐκ () ἔστιν () μετ’ () ἐμοῦ () εἰ () μὴ () τὸ () κτῆνος, () ᾧ () ἐγὼ () ἐπιβαίνω () ἐπ’ () αὐτῷ. ()
[13] Καὶ () ἐξῆλθον () ἐν () πύλῃ () τοῦ () γωληλα καὶ () πρὸς () στόμα () πηγῆς () τῶν () συκῶν () καὶ () εἰς () πύλην () τῆς () κοπρίας () καὶ () ἤμην () συντρίβων () ἐν () τῷ () τείχει () Ιερουσαλημ, () ὃ () αὐτοὶ () καθαιροῦσιν () καὶ () πύλαι () αὐτῆς () κατεβρώθησαν πυρί. ()
[14] Καὶ () παρῆλθον () ἐπὶ () πύλην () τοῦ () Αιν καὶ () εἰς () κολυμβήθραν () τοῦ () βασιλέως, () καὶ () οὐκ () ἦν () τόπος () τῷ () κτήνει () παρελθεῖν () ὑποκάτω () μου. ()
[15] Καὶ () ἤμην () ἀναβαίνων () ἐν () τῷ () τείχει () χειμάρρου () νυκτὸς () καὶ () ἤμην () συντρίβων () ἐν () τῷ () τείχει. () Καὶ () ἤμην () ἐν () πύλῃ () τῆς () φάραγγος () καὶ () ἐπέστρεψα. ()
[16] Καὶ () οἱ () φυλάσσοντες () οὐκ () ἔγνωσαν () τί () ἐπορεύθην () καὶ () τί () ἐγὼ () ποιῶ, () καὶ () τοῖς () Ιουδαίοις () καὶ () τοῖς () ἱερεῦσιν () καὶ () τοῖς () ἐντίμοις () καὶ () τοῖς () στρατηγοῖς () καὶ () τοῖς () καταλοίποις () τοῖς () ποιοῦσιν () τὰ () ἔργα () ἕως () τότε () οὐκ () ἀπήγγειλα. ()
[17] Καὶ () εἶπα () πρὸς () αὐτούς () Ὑμεῖς () βλέπετε () τὴν () πονηρίαν, () ἐν () ᾗ () ἐσμεν () ἐν () αὐτῇ, () πῶς () Ιερουσαλημ () ἔρημος () καὶ () αἱ () πύλαι () αὐτῆς () ἐδόθησαν () πυρί· () δεῦτε () καὶ () διοικοδομήσωμεν τὸ () τεῖχος () Ιερουσαλημ, () καὶ () οὐκ () ἐσόμεθα () ἔτι () ὄνειδος. ()
[18] Καὶ () ἀπήγγειλα () αὐτοῖς () τὴν () χεῖρα () τοῦ () θεοῦ, () ἥ () ἐστιν () ἀγαθὴ () ἐπ’ () ἐμέ, () καὶ () τοὺς () λόγους () τοῦ () βασιλέως, () οὓς () εἶπέν () μοι, () καὶ () εἶπα () Ἀναστῶμεν () καὶ () οἰκοδομήσωμεν. () Καὶ () ἐκραταιώθησαν () αἱ () χεῖρες () αὐτῶν () εἰς () ἀγαθόν. ()—
[19] καὶ () ἤκουσεν () Σαναβαλλατ ὁ () Αρωνι καὶ () Τωβια ὁ () δοῦλος () ὁ () Αμμωνι καὶ () Γησαμ ὁ () Αραβι καὶ () ἐξεγέλασαν ἡμᾶς () καὶ () ἦλθον () ἐφ’ () ἡμᾶς () καὶ () εἶπαν () Τί () τὸ () ῥῆμα () τοῦτο, () ὃ () ὑμεῖς () ποιεῖτε; () Ἦ () ἐπὶ () τὸν () βασιλέα () ὑμεῖς () ἀποστατεῖτε;
[20] Καὶ () ἐπέστρεψα () αὐτοῖς () λόγον () καὶ () εἶπα () αὐτοῖς () Ὁ () θεὸς () τοῦ () οὐρανοῦ, () αὐτὸς () εὐοδώσει () ἡμῖν, () καὶ () ἡμεῖς () δοῦλοι () αὐτοῦ () καθαροί, () καὶ () οἰκοδομήσομεν· () καὶ () ὑμῖν () οὐκ () ἔστιν () μερὶς () καὶ () δικαιοσύνη () καὶ () μνημόσυνον () ἐν () Ιερουσαλημ. ()

Nehemiah 2:1 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:1.
Nehemiah 2:2 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:2.
Nehemiah 2:3 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:3.
Nehemiah 2:4 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:4.
Nehemiah 2:5 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:5.
Nehemiah 2:6 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:6.
Nehemiah 2:7 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:7.
Nehemiah 2:8 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:8.
Nehemiah 2:9 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:9.
Nehemiah 2:10 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:10.
Nehemiah 2:11 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:11.
Nehemiah 2:12 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:12.
Nehemiah 2:13 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:13.
Nehemiah 2:14 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:14.
Nehemiah 2:15 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:15.
Nehemiah 2:16 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:16.
Nehemiah 2:17 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:17.
Nehemiah 2:18 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:18.
Nehemiah 2:19 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:19.
Nehemiah 2:20 Originally Ἔσδρας Β΄ 12:20.

Old Testament scripture quotations and versification from Septuaginta, edited by Alfred Rahlfs (Stuttgart: Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1935). New Testament quotations are from the Byzantine Text (Guardian Press, LLC, Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform, 2026). Both are in the public domain.