Nehemiah 2:11-17

11I arrived in Jerusalem city. After three days,

12I went out at night. I took a few of my friends with me. I was riding on a donkey. That was the only animal that we took with us. I did not tell anyone the idea that God had put in my mind about Jerusalem.

13I went through the Valley Gate to the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate. As I went, I looked carefully at Jerusalem's walls. They were broken. Fire had destroyed the city's gates.

14I went to the Fountain Gate and then to the King's Pool. The path there was too narrow for my donkey to pass through.

15So I went along the path in the valley while it was still night. I continued to look at the wall. I reached the Valley Gate again and I went back into the city.

16The city's officers did not know that I had done this. I had not told anyone what I had decided to do. I had not told any of the other Jews, their priests, their leaders or the city's officers. I had not told any of the people who would help to do the work on the wall.

17But then I said to them, ‘We have a big problem. Jerusalem has become a heap of stones. Fire has burned the gates. You must help to build the city's walls again. Then we will no longer be ashamed of our city.’