Nehemiah 2:20

Nehemiah 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
• New International Version (NIV)I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then 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."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Context of Nehemiah 2:20

18I told the people how God had helped me to come to Jerusalem. I told them what the king had said to me. Then the people said, ‘We will start to build now!’ The people prepared to start this good work. 19But Sanballat, Tobiah and an Arab man called Geshem heard about what we were doing. They laughed at us and they insulted us. They said, ‘What are you trying to do? Have you turned against the king's authority?’ I replied to them, ‘Our God who rules from heaven will help us. We are his servants and we will start to build. But you have never been true citizens of Jerusalem.’

Nehemiah 2:20 word by word

וָאָשִׁ֨יב אוֹתָ֜ם דָּבָ֗ר וָאוֹמַ֤ר לָהֶם֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם ה֚וּא יַצְלִ֣יחַֽ לָ֔נוּ וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ עֲבָדָ֖יו נָק֣וּם וּבָנִ֑ינוּ וְלָכֶ֗ם אֵֽין־חֵ֧לֶק וּצְדָקָ֛ה וְזִכָּר֖וֹן בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then answeredדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• Then answeredשׁוּבshûb · to return: replyH7725
• I them, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, The Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• he will prosperצָלֵחַtsâlach tsâlêach · to prosperH6743
• us; therefore we his servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• will ariseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• and buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• but ye have no portionחֵ֫לֶקchêleq · portionH2506
• nor rightצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• nor memorialזִכָּרוֹןzikrôn · memorialH2146
• in Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389

Cross-references for Nehemiah 2:20

• Nehemiah 2:4The king asked me, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ So I prayed to our God who rules from heaven.
• 2 Chronicles 26:5He served God faithfully all the time that Zechariah was alive. Zechariah taught him to respect and obey God. As long as Uzziah served the Lord faithfully, God gave him success.
• Psalms 20:5Then we will be happy and we will shout aloud when you win against your enemies. We will wave our flags to praise our God. Yes, I pray that the Lord will do for you everything that you ask him to do.
• Psalms 35:27But for those who want justice for me, let them shout aloud in their pleasure. May they always say, ‘The Lord is great! He is happy when his servant is safe and well!’
• Psalms 102:13You will soon be kind to Zion again. Now it is time to forgive her. Yes, the time is now right for you to do that.
• Psalms 122:6Pray that there will be peace in Jerusalem. Pray that people who love Jerusalem will be safe.
• Ecclesiastes 7:18Remember both these things. Do not forget either of them. You can do that if you respect God and you obey him.
• Ezra 4:3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the other leaders of Israel's people said, ‘No. You cannot help us to build the temple for our God. We must build it by ourselves for the Lord, Israel's God. That is what Cyrus, king of Persia, has commanded us to do.’
• Acts 8:21You cannot do the work which we are doing. God knows that you are not thinking the right things.
• Exodus 28:29When Aaron goes into the Holy Place, he will wear the breastpiece. So he will carry the names of Israel's sons over his heart. And the Lord will always remember to bless the Israelites.
• Leviticus 2:2He must take it to Aaron's sons, the priests. The priest will take some of the flour and oil and all the incense in his hand. He will burn them on the altar as a gift to the Lord. The smell of them while they are burning will give the Lord pleasure.
• Leviticus 24:7They must put incense near each row. They must burn the incense as a gift to the Lord instead of the bread.
• Numbers 10:10You must make sounds with the trumpets on your happy days, too. And you must make sounds with the trumpets at your regular festivals and on the first days of your months. And you must make sounds with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over your friendship offerings. God will hear and he will remember you. I am the Lord your God.’
• Isaiah 56:5If they do that, I will give them a special place in my temple. It will cause people to remember them. Their name will continue in a better way than through sons and daughters. People will always honour their name. Nobody will cut it off.
• Zechariah 6:14They will put the crown in the house of the Lord. This is to remember Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. This is because they brought the gold from Babylon.
• Acts 10:4Cornelius looked at the angel and he was afraid. He asked, ‘Master, why have you come to me?’ The angel answered, ‘God has heard your prayers. He knows about all the money that you give to poor people. This has pleased him. Now God is answering your prayers.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 2:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Ye have no portion, nor right - To be a citizen of Jerusalem was a high honor; and they would not permit those who did not belong to the tribes of Israel to dwell there. Zerubbabel gave the same answer to the Samaritans, Ezra 4:3.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-20Verses 19-20 The enmity of the serpent's seed against the cause of Christ is confined to no age or nation. The application to ourselves is plain. The church of God asks for our help. Is it not desolate, and exposed to assaults? Does the consideration of its low estate cause you any grief? Let not business, pleasure, or the support of a party so engage attention, as that Zion and her welfare shall be nothing to you.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The title God of heaven showed Persian audiences that Israel's true God was not just a local god. Nehemiah focused on obeying his ruler by building the walls.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-201. it came to pass in the month Nisan--This was nearly four months after he had learned the desolate and ruinous state of Jerusalem (Ne 1:1). The reasons for so long a delay cannot be ascertained. I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king--Xenophon has particularly remarked about the polished and graceful manner in which the cupbearers of the Median, and consequently the Persian, monarchs performed their duty of presenting the wine to their royal…Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 2:20

• Country
• Faith

In the dictionaries

• God
• Jerusalem
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Laugh
• Reproach
• Scorn
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Memorial; Memory
• Right
• Arabia, Arabian

Commentaries on Nehemiah 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings