NEHEMIAH 2

« Nehemiah 1 | Nehemiah 2 | Nehemiah 3 »

Nehemiah Sent to Judah  2:1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province 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 fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
    11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
    17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to 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 Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

PSALM 20

« Psalm 19 | Psalm 20 | Psalm 21 »

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our GodTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
20:1

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2

May he send you help from the sanctuary

and give you support from Zion! 3

May he remember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4

May he grant you your heart’s desire

and fulfill all your plans! 5

May we shout for joy over your salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
6

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with the saving might of his right hand. 7

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8

They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.
9

O Lord, save the king!

May he answer us when we call.

PSALM 21

« Psalm 20 | Psalm 21 | Psalm 22 »

The King Rejoices in the Lord’s StrengthTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
21:1

O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,

and in your salvation how greatly he exults! 2

You have given him his heart’s desire

and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3

For you meet him with rich blessings;

you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. 4

He asked life of you; you gave it to him,

length of days forever and ever. 5

His glory is great through your salvation;

splendor and majesty you bestow on him. 6

For you make him most blessed forever;

you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 7

For the king trusts in the Lord,

and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8

Your hand will find out all your enemies;

your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9

You will make them as a blazing oven

when you appear.

The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,

and fire will consume them. 10

You will destroy their descendants from the earth,

and their offspring from among the children of man. 11

Though they plan evil against you,

though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 12

For you will put them to flight;

you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13

Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!

We will sing and praise your power.

PROVERBS 19

« Proverbs 18 | Proverbs 19 | Proverbs 20 »

19:1

Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity

than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool. 2

Desire without knowledge is not good,

and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. 3

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,

his heart rages against the Lord. 4

Wealth brings many new friends,

but a poor man is deserted by his friend. 5

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who breathes out lies will not escape. 6

Many seek the favor of a generous man,

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. 7

All a poor man’s brothers hate him;

how much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursues them with words, but does not have them. 8

Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;

he who keeps understanding will discover good. 9

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who breathes out lies will perish. 10

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,

much less for a slave to rule over princes. 11

Good sense makes one slow to anger,

and it is his glory to overlook an offense. 12

A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass. 13

A foolish son is ruin to his father,

and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain. 14

House and wealth are inherited from fathers,

but a prudent wife is from the Lord. 15

Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,

and an idle person will suffer hunger. 16

Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;

he who despises his ways will die. 17

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,

and he will repay him for his deed. 18

Discipline your son, for there is hope;

do not set your heart on putting him to death. 19

A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,

for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again. 20

Listen to advice and accept instruction,

that you may gain wisdom in the future. 21

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 22

What is desired in a man is steadfast love,

and a poor man is better than a liar. 23

The fear of the Lord leads to life,

and whoever has it rests satisfied;

he will not be visited by harm. 24

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish

and will not even bring it back to his mouth. 25

Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge. 26

He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother

is a son who brings shame and reproach. 27

Cease to hear instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge. 28

A worthless witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. 29

Condemnation is ready for scoffers,

and beating for the backs of fools.