Nehemiah 2:17

Nehemiah 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”

Context of Nehemiah 2:17

15So I was going up at night by the ravine and inspecting the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. 16However, the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest who were doing the work. Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” 18And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let’s arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work. 19But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Nehemiah 2:17 word by word

וָאוֹמַ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֗ם אַתֶּ֤ם רֹאִים֙ הָרָעָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲנַ֣חְנוּ בָ֔הּ אֲשֶׁ֤ר יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ חֲרֵבָ֔ה וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ נִצְּת֣וּ בָאֵ֑שׁ לְכ֗וּ וְנִבְנֶה֙ אֶת־חוֹמַ֣ת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם וְלֹא־נִהְיֶ֥ה ע֖וֹד חֶרְפָּֽה׃Read the interlinear

• Then I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to them, “You seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• is desolateחָרֵבchârêb · desolateH2720
• and its gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• have been burnedיָצַתyâtsath · to kindleH3341
• by fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• Comeהָלַךְhâlak · to go: come!H1980
• let’s rebuildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• so that we will noלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• longerעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
• be a disgraceחֶרְפָּהcherpâh · reproachH2781

Cross-references for Nehemiah 2:17

• Lamentations 2:2The Lord has destroyed; He has not spared All the settlements of Jacob. In His wrath He has overthrown The strongholds of the daughter of Judah, He has hurled them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its leaders.
• Lamentations 3:51My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.
• Ezra 5:1When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them,
• Ezra 10:2Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
• Isaiah 35:3Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong.
• Nehemiah 1:3And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and disgrace, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.”
• 1 Samuel 11:2But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and thereby I will inflict a disgrace on all Israel.”
• Psalms 44:13You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors, Of scoffing and ridicule to those around us.
• Psalms 79:4We have become a disgrace before our neighbors, An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.
• Psalms 89:50Remember, Lord, the taunt against Your servants; How I carry in my heart the taunts of all the many peoples,
• Jeremiah 24:9I will make them an object of terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all the places where I will scatter them.
• Lamentations 3:45You have made us mere refuse and rubbish In the midst of the peoples.
• Ezekiel 5:14Moreover, I will make you a site of ruins and a disgrace among the nations that surround you, in the sight of everyone who passes by.
• Ezekiel 22:4You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 2:17

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-18Verses 9-18 When Nehemiah had considered the matter, he told the Jews that God had put it into his heart to build the wall of Jerusalem. He does not undertake to do it without them. By stirring up ourselves and one another to that which is good, we strengthen ourselves and one another for it. We are weak in our duty, when we are cold and careless.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17Nehemiah kept his inspection and rebuilding plans secret from both the Persian and Jewish leaders to prevent organized opposition. Now, Nehemiah was ready to lead the rebuilding effort. the trouble we are in: The broken walls brought disgrace to the city and reflected poorly on God. Jerusalem certainly did not resemble the city of the great King (Psalm 48:2).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1816-18. the rulers knew not--The following day, having assembled the elders, Nehemiah produced his commission and exhorted them to assist in the work. The sight of his credentials, and the animating strain of his address and example, so revived their drooping spirits that they resolved immediately to commence the building, which they did, despite the bitter taunts and scoffing ridicule of some influential men.Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 2:17

• Country

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Laugh
• Reproach
• Scorn
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Gate

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