Bad News from Jerusalem
Study note
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia. A cupbearer was a trusted official who tasted the king's wine to make sure it was safe. The month of Chislev was around November or December. Shushan, also called Susa, was one of the royal palaces of the Persian Empire. Nehemiah's brother Hanani brought news that even though some Jews had returned to Jerusalem years earlier, the city was still in ruins.
1 This is the account of Nehemiah son of Hachaliah. During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, I was at the royal fortress in Shushan. 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 My brother Hanani arrived with some other men from Judah. I asked them how things were going for the Jews who had survived and returned to the homeland, and about the state of Jerusalem. That Hanani, one of my brethren, 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 They gave me terrible news: "The survivors back in the land are facing awful hardship and public shame. Jerusalem's wall is smashed to pieces, and fire has destroyed its gates." And they said unto 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.
Nehemiah's Prayer
Study note
When Nehemiah heard the bad news, he sat down and cried for days. His prayer follows a pattern found often in the Bible. He praised God first, then confessed the sins of his people, and finally asked God to keep His promises. Nehemiah reminded God of the promise He made through Moses: if His people turned back to Him, He would bring them home. The prayer ends with Nehemiah asking God to give him success with the king, setting up what happens in the next chapter.
4 When I heard this, I broke down and cried. For days I grieved, going without food and pouring out my heart to the God of heaven. 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 I prayed, "Please, Lord, God of heaven. You are the great God who keeps his vows. You show steady love to those who love you and keep your commands." And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 "Please pay attention. Keep your eyes and ears open to hear the prayer I am bringing to you day and night on behalf of Israel, your people. I freely admit that we Israelites have sinned against you. My own family and I have sinned too." Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 "We have treated you terribly. We ignored the commands, the rules, and the laws you gave to your servant Moses." We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 "Please recall what you told your servant Moses: 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you across the nations.'" Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 "'But if you come back to me, obey my commands, and live by them, then I will gather you. Even if your people end up at the farthest corners of the earth, I will bring them home to the place I chose for my name.'" But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 "These are your servants, your own people -- the ones you rescued with your enormous power and mighty hand." Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 "Please, Lord, hear my prayer and the prayers of all your servants who love honoring your name. Give me success today, and make the king treat me kindly." I prayed this because my job was serving as the king's cupbearer. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.