1En dag i nisan* måned i kong Artaxerxes’ 20. regeringsår skulle jeg bringe vin ind til kongen. Jeg havde aldrig tidligere set sørgmodig ud, når jeg stod foran ham. Da jeg rakte ham vinen,2udbrød han: „Hvorfor ser du så bedrøvet ud, Nehemias? Du er jo ikke syg, så der må være noget andet, der piner dig.” Jeg blev helt bange,3men jeg tog mod til mig og svarede: „Deres Majestæt længe leve! Ja, det piner mig, at den by, hvor mine forfædre er begravet, ligger i ruiner, og at portene er nedbrændt.”4„Hvad kan jeg gøre for dig?” spurgte kongen. Da sendte jeg en bøn op til Gud i Himlen5og svarede: „Hvis det behager Deres Majestæt at vise godhed imod mig, så lad mig rejse til Juda og genopbygge mine forfædres by.”6Kongen kastede et blik på dronningen, der sad ved hans side, og spurgte så: „Hvor lang tid vil det tage? Hvornår kan du være tilbage?” Jeg gav ham en omtrentlig tidsramme, og han gav mig lov at rejse.7„Hvis det behager Deres Majestæt, så lad mig få breve med til guvernørerne i området vest for Eufratfloden, så de kan give mig lov til at rejse gennem deres område på vej til Juda,” fortsatte jeg.8„Lad mig også få et brev med til Asaf, der har ansvar for de kongelige skove, så han kan give mig bjælker til nye porte i bymuren og til genopbygningen af tempelborgen og til det hus, hvor jeg skal bo.” Kongen gav mig alt, hvad jeg bad om, for Herren var med mig.9Kongen gav mig desuden officerer og ryttere med til beskyttelse på rejsen. Da vi nåede frem til provinserne vest for Eufratfloden, afleverede jeg kongens breve til de forskellige guvernører og rejste videre uden problemer.10Men da horonitten Sanballat og den ammonitiske embedsmand Tobija hørte om det, blev de vrede over, at nogen ønskede at hjælpe israelitterne.
Nehemias inspicerer muren omkring Jerusalem
11Så kom jeg til Jerusalem, og da jeg havde været der i tre dage, foretog jeg om natten en inspektion sammen med nogle få mænd uden at sige til nogen, hvad Gud havde lagt mig på hjerte angående Jerusalem. Vi havde kun et æsel, som jeg red på, mens de andre gik.13Først red jeg ud gennem Dalporten i retning af Sjakalbrønden og nåede til Møgporten, mens jeg undersøgte den nedrevne murs beskaffenhed og resterne af de brændte porte.14Derfra fortsatte vi til Kildeporten og Kongedammen, men der var der ikke plads til, at mit æsel kunne komme videre. Så drejede jeg af og red op gennem Kedrondalen, mens jeg inspicerede murene, hvorefter vi vendte hjem gennem Dalporten.16Ingen af de lokale embedsmænd vidste, hvor jeg havde været, eller hvad jeg havde foretaget mig. Jeg havde nemlig ikke sagt noget til nogen, hverken judæere, præster, embedsmænd eller de andre ledere, selvom det var dem, som ville få ansvar for genopbygningen.17Men nu sagde jeg: „I ved alt om den tragedie, der har ramt vores by. I ved, at murene ligger i ruiner, og at portene er brændt. Men lad os nu i fællesskab genopbygge Jerusalems mure, så ingen længere skal gøre nar af os.”18Så fortalte jeg dem, hvordan Gud havde været med mig, og hvad kongen havde sagt. „Lad os begynde med det samme!” udbrød de ivrigt. Derefter gik de i gang med at forberede arbejdet.19Da Sanballat, Tobija og araberen Geshem hørte om planen, gjorde de nar af os: „Hvad er I ude på? Gør I oprør imod kongen?”20„Himlens Gud vil hjælpe os,” svarede jeg. „Vi er hans tjenere, og nu går vi i gang med at genopbygge muren. Men I har ingen rettigheder i Jerusalem, for det er ikke jeres by og har aldrig været det.”
English Standard Version
Nehemiah Sent to Judah
1In 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.2And 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.3I 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?”4Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.5And 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.”6And 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.7And 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,8and 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 Walls
9Then 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.10But 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.11So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.12Then 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.13I 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.14Then 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.15Then 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.16And 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.17Then 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.”18And 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.19But 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?”20Then 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.”
Diese Website verwendet Cookies, um Ihnen die bestmögliche Nutzererfahrung bieten zu können.