Nehemiah 2:8

Nehemiah 2:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
• New International Version (NIV)And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Context of Nehemiah 2:8

6The king was sitting with the queen next to him. The king asked me, ‘How long will you be away? When will you return?’ I told the king how long I would be away. Because the king was happy to send me, I told him when I would leave. 7I said to the king, ‘If the king agrees, please give me some letters to say that I have your authority. I will show the letters to your officers who rule the region on the west side of the Euphrates river. Then I will be able to travel safely on the journey to Judah. Also give me a letter for Asaph, who takes care of the king's forest there. Tell him to give me wood from the trees. I need to make beams to mend the gates of the strong place near the temple. I also need to mend the city's wall. And I need to build a house for myself to live in.’ The king agreed to do what I asked him, because my God was with me. 9The king sent officers of his army to keep me safe on the journey. He also sent soldiers who rode on horses. I went to the king's officers on the west side of the Euphrates river. I gave them the letters which the king had written. 10But two important men were not happy when they heard that I had come to help the Israelite people. They were Sanballat, who came from Horon, and Tobiah, an Ammonite officer.

Nehemiah 2:8 word by word

וְאִגֶּ֡רֶת אֶל־אָסָף֩ שֹׁמֵ֨ר הַפַּרְדֵּ֜ס אֲשֶׁ֣ר לַמֶּ֗לֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִתֶּן־לִ֣י עֵצִ֡ים לְ֠קָרוֹת אֶת־שַׁעֲרֵ֨י הַבִּירָ֤ה אֲשֶׁר־לַבַּ֙יִת֙ וּלְחוֹמַ֣ת הָעִ֔יר וְלַבַּ֖יִת אֲשֶׁר־אָב֣וֹא אֵלָ֑יו וַיִּתֶּן־לִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כְּיַד־אֱלֹהַ֖י הַטּוֹבָ֥ה עָלָֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And a letterאִגֶּ֫רֶת'iggereth · letterH107
• unto Asaphאָסָף'âsâph · AsaphH623
• the keeperשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
• of the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• forestפַּרְדֵּסpardês · parkH6508
• that he may giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• me timberעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
• to make beamsקָרָהqârâh · to lay beamsH7136
• for the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• of the palaceבִּירָהbîyrâh · palaceH1002
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• and for the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• that I shall enter intoבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• me, according to the goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• of my Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Nehemiah 2:8

• Nehemiah 2:17But 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.’
• Nehemiah 3:1The leader of the priests, Eliashib, and the other priests built the Sheep Gate. They fixed the doors in it again. They built the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. They dedicated it all to God.
• Nehemiah 3:7Men from Gibeon and Mizpah repaired the wall next to the Old Gate. They included Melatiah from Gibeon and Jadon, who came from Meronoth. The officer who ruled the region on the west side of the Euphrates river had authority over those towns.
• Nehemiah 7:2I gave authority over Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and to Hananiah. Hananiah was the leader of the men in Jerusalem's strong building. He was a faithful man who respected God more than many men do.
• Nehemiah 2:18I 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.
• Genesis 32:28Then the man said, ‘Your name will not be Jacob any longer. Your name will now be Israel. That is because you have fought with God and you have fought with men. And you have won!’
• Ezra 5:5But God was watching over the Jewish leaders. Nobody was able to stop them building at that time. The city's officers had to wait until they could send a letter to King Darius. They waited for him to reply.
• Ezra 6:22Then they ate the Feast of Flat Bread for seven days. The Lord had caused them to be very happy, because the king of Assyria had helped them. The Lord had made the king think in a different way about the Jews in Jerusalem. He had decided to help them to build the God of Israel's temple.
• Ezra 7:6This man Ezra arrived from Babylon. He was a teacher who knew the law of Moses very well. The Lord, Israel's God, had given that law to Moses. Ezra served the Lord as his God. The Lord was kind and he helped Ezra, so that the king of Persia gave him everything that he asked for.
• Proverbs 21:1The Lord controls the things that a king decides to do. He can change the king's thoughts, like the direction of a stream.
• Isaiah 66:14And when you see these things happen, you will feel very happy! You will become strong and healthy, like fresh grass. The Lord's servants will know that he is there to bless them. But his enemies will see that he is angry with them.
• Daniel 1:9God had already caused the officer to like Daniel and to be kind to him.
• Acts 7:10God saved him from all his troubles and he helped him to live in a wise way. Because of that, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, liked Joseph. He saw that Joseph was very wise. So Pharaoh gave Joseph authority to rule Egypt and everyone in the king's own house.
• Acts 26:22But God has helped me every day, even until today. So now I stand here and I can tell you what is true. I say the same thing to people who are very important and to people who are not important. I am telling you the same things that Moses and God's other prophets wrote about. They also said that these things would happen.
• 2 Corinthians 8:16Titus wants to help you just as much as we do. We thank God that he has made Titus ready to do that.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 2:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Asaph the keeper of the king's forest - הפרדס hapardes of the paradise of the king. This I believe is originally a Persian word; it frequently occurs in Arabic, ferdoos, and in Greek, , and in both signifies a pleasant garden, vineyard, pleasure garden, and what we call a paradise. Above the hall of audience, in the imperial palace at Dehli, the following Persian couplet is inscribed: - "If there be a paradise on the face of the earth, this is it, this is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The king‘s forest - Rather, park. The word used פרדס pardês compare ́ paradeisos found only here, in Ecclesiastes 2:5, and in Song of Song of Solomon 4:13 ), is of Persian, or at any rate of Aryan origin. The Persians signified by pariyadeza a walled enclosure, ornamented with trees, either planted or of natural growth, and containing numerous wild animals. The “paradise” here mentioned must have been in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and may have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Temple fortress might mean the Tower of Hananel or the Tower of the Hundred. the gracious hand of my God was upon me: Nehemiah understood that God guided the king to grant these requests.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-96-9. the queen also sitting by him--As the Persian monarchs did not admit their wives to be present at their state festivals, this must have been a private occasion. The queen referred to was probably Esther, whose presence would tend greatly to embolden Nehemiah in stating his request; and through her influence, powerfully exerted it may be supposed, also by her sympathy with the patriotic design, his petition was granted, to go as deputy governor of…Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 2:8

• Asaph
• Country
• Letters
• Nehemiah
• Passports

In the dictionaries

• Asaph
• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Fenced cities
• Forest
• Gate
• Laugh
• Palace
• Reproach
• Scorn

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