Nehemiah 2:5
in Nehemiah 2and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Nehemiah 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe city of my fathers’ sepulchres - The tombs of the dead were sacred among the ancients, and nothing could appear to them more detestable than disturbing the ashes or remains of the dead. Nehemiah knew that in mentioning this circumstance he should strongly interest the feelings of the Persian king.
This site's exposition
if your servant has found favor in your sight
on Nehemiah 2:5-6
Nehemiah asks that the king send him to Judah, and he frames the whole request as a matter of the king's favor. The king asks when Nehemiah will return, so what is granted is leave with a term attached. The queen sits beside him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He asked for a commission to go as governor to Judah, to build the wall of Jerusalem, and to stay there for a certain time, so many months, we may suppose; and then either he had his commission renewed or went back and was sent again, so that he presided there twelve years at least, ch.
And I said unto the king; if it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But the piety and intense earnestness of the man immediately restored [Nehemiah] to calm self-possession and enabled him to communicate, first, the cause of his sadness (Ne 2:3), and next, the patriotic wish of his heart to be the honored instrument of reviving the ancient glory of the city of his fathers.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֹמַ֣ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | lamelekh | to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| ט֔וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִיטַ֥ב | yitav | he is good | H3190 → | |
| עַבְדְּךָ֖ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לְפָנֶ֑יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּשְׁלָחֵ֣נִי | tishlacheni | you will send me | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוּדָ֗ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עִ֛יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| קִבְר֥וֹת | kivrot | [the] tombs of | H6913 → | 67 times |
| אֲבֹתַ֖י | ʾavotai | ancestors my | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֶבְנֶֽנָּה׃ | veevnenah | and I will rebuild it | H1129 → | 376 times |
וָאֹמַ֣רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
לַמֶּ֔לֶךְto the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
ט֔וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
יִיטַ֥בhe is good
yitavH3190 →
עַבְדְּךָ֖servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
לְפָנֶ֑יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּשְׁלָחֵ֣נִיyou will send me
tishlacheniH7971 →845 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוּדָ֗הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עִ֛יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
קִבְר֥וֹת[the] tombs of
kivrotH6913 →67 times
אֲבֹתַ֖יancestors my
ʾavotaiH1 →1212 times
וְאֶבְנֶֽנָּה׃and I will rebuild it
veevnenahH1129 →376 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
Proverbs 3:4Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
it leads to
- Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
- 1 Samuel 2:26
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
- Romans 14:18
For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Genesis 39:2–4
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- Luke 2:52
Through
Ruth 2:13“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 1:18
“May your maidservant find favor with you,” said Hannah. Then she went on her way, and she began eating again, and her face was no longer downcast.
- Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
- Genesis 33:8
“What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
- 1 Samuel 1:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Nehemiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
