Nehemiah 2:17
in Nehemiah 2Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Nehemiah 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThen said I unto them,.... The priests and princes of the Jews: you see the distress that we are in; lie open to our enemies, and exposed to their insults: how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire, Neh 1:3, come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach; to their neighbours about them, who scoffed at them as a defenceless people and frequently came in upon them, and spoiled and plundered them of their goods and substance.
This site's exposition
let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem
on Nehemiah 2:17-18
Nehemiah names the distress before the plan: "Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace" (2:17). He gives the grounds after the ask, "the gracious hand of my God upon me" and what the king had said.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And I said to them: You see the distress we are in," etc. These words are plain and very apt in a spiritual sense, because holy teachers, and indeed all who are fervent with zeal for God, are in great distress as long as Jerusalem, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
It is a pity that a good motion should be lost purely for want of one to move it and to break the ice in it. Secondly, By stirring up ourselves and one another to that which is good, we strengthen ourselves and one another for it; for the great reason why we are weak in our duty is because we are cold to it, indifferent and unresolved.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאוֹמַ֣ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֗ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַתֶּ֤ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| רֹאִים֙ | roim | [are] seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| הָרָעָה֙ | haraah | the trouble | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנַ֣חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| בָ֔הּ | vah | [are] in it | ||
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| חֲרֵבָ֔ה | charevah | [is] desolate | H2720 → | |
| וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ | usheareiha | and gates its | H8179 → | 374 times |
| נִצְּת֣וּ | nitzetu | they have been burned | H3341 → | |
| בָאֵ֑שׁ | vaesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| לְכ֗וּ | lekhu | come | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְנִבְנֶה֙ | venivneh | so we may rebuild | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חוֹמַ֣ת | chomat | [the] wall of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִהְיֶ֥ה | nihyeh | we will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | |
| חֶרְפָּֽה׃ | cherpah | a reproach | H2781 → | 73 times |
וָאוֹמַ֣רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֗םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
אַתֶּ֤םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
רֹאִים֙[are] seeing
roimH7200 →1300 times
הָרָעָה֙the trouble
haraahH7451 →662 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנַ֣חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
בָ֔הּ[are] in it
vah
אֲשֶׁ֤רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
חֲרֵבָ֔ה[is] desolate
charevahH2720 →
וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָand gates its
usheareihaH8179 →374 times
נִצְּת֣וּthey have been burned
nitzetuH3341 →
בָאֵ֑שׁwith <the> fire
vaeshH784 →378 times
לְכ֗וּcome
lekhuH1980 →1546 times
וְנִבְנֶה֙so we may rebuild
venivnehH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חוֹמַ֣ת[the] wall of
chomatH2346 →133 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִהְיֶ֥הwe will be
nihyehH1961 →3559 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →
חֶרְפָּֽה׃a reproach
cherpahH2781 →73 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 79:4We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:6
You make us contend with our neighbors; our enemies mock us.
- Ezekiel 36:15
I will no longer allow the taunts of the nations to be heard against you, and you will no longer endure the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble, declares the…
- Psalms 89:41
All who pass by plunder him; he has become a reproach to his neighbors.
- Lamentations 5:1
Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us. Look and see our disgrace!
- Psalms 80:6
Through
Ezekiel 5:14I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
it leads to
- Psalms 74:3–10
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
- Psalms 79:1–4
The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
- Ezekiel 22:4
you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of…
- Psalms 74:3–10
Through
Lamentations 3:51My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
- Jeremiah 19:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this chapter
About Nehemiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.