Nehemiah 2:6

Nehemiah 2:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Context of Nehemiah 2:6

4Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, I request that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. 7And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, 8and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which is by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.

Nehemiah 2:6 word by word

וַיֹּאמֶר֩ לִ֨י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ וְהַשֵּׁגַ֣ל׀ יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת אֶצְל֗וֹ עַד־מָתַ֛י יִהְיֶ֥ה מַֽהֲלָכֲךָ֖ וּמָתַ֣י תָּשׁ֑וּב וַיִּיטַ֤ב לִפְנֵֽי־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֔נִי וָֽאֶתְּנָ֥ה ל֖וֹ זְמָֽן׃Read the interlinear

• Then the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to me, with the queenשֵׁגָלshêgâl · queenH7694
• sittingיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• him, “Howמָתַיmâthay · howH4970
• longעַד‛ad · tillH5704
• will your journeyמַהֲלָךְmahălâk · journeyH4109
• will you returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• So it pleasedיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
• to sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• I gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• him a definiteזְמָ֑ןzemân · timeH2165

Cross-references for Nehemiah 2:6

• Nehemiah 2:4Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
• Nehemiah 1:11Please, Lord, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
• Isaiah 58:12Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
• Isaiah 61:4Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.
• Isaiah 65:24It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen.
• Nehemiah 5:14Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.
• Nehemiah 13:6But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had come to the king. After some time, however, I requested a leave of absence from the king,

Commentaries on Nehemiah 2:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The queen also sitting by him - Who probably forwarded his suit. This was not Esther, as Dean Prideaux supposes, nor perhaps the same Artaxerxes who had taken her to be queen; nor does שגל shegal signify queen, but rather harlot or concubine, she who was chief favourite. The Septuagint translate it , harlot; and properly too. See the introduction. I set him a time - How long this time was we are not told; it is by no means likely that it was long…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The queen - Though the Persian kings practiced polygamy, they always had one chief wife, who alone was recognized as “queen.” The chief wife of Longimanus was Damaspia. I set him a time - Nehemiah appears to have stayed at Jerusalem twelve years from his first arrival Nehemiah 5:14; but he can scarcely have mentioned so long a term to the king. Probably his leave of absence was prolonged from time to time.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6How long will your journey take (see Ezra 5:14): Nehemiah likely asked for a short time at first and later requested more time.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 2:6

• Country
• Nehemiah
• Persia
• Queen
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Laugh
• Prayer
• Reproach
• Scorn
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Nehemiah
• Queen
• Persia

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