Nehemiah 2:3

Nehemiah 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
• New International Version (NIV)but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”

Context of Nehemiah 2:3

1Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified, but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

Nehemiah 2:3 word by word

וָאֹמַ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לְעוֹלָ֣ם יִחְיֶ֑ה מַדּ֜וּעַ לֹא־יֵרְע֣וּ פָנַ֗י אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָעִ֜יר בֵּית־קִבְר֤וֹת אֲבֹתַי֙ חֲרֵבָ֔ה וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ אֻכְּל֥וּ בָאֵֽשׁ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
• why should not my countenanceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• be sadיָרַעyâra‛ · quiverH3415
• when the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• the placeבֵּיתbayith · betweenH1004
• of my fathers’אָב'âb · fatherH1
• sepulchresקֶ֫בֶרqeber qibrâh · graveH6913
• wasteחָרֵבchârêb · desolateH2720
• and the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• thereof are consumedאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784

Cross-references for Nehemiah 2:3

• 1 Kings 1:31Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground before the king and exclaimed, “May my lord King David live forever!”
• Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
• Daniel 3:9They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king!
• Daniel 5:10But when the queen mother heard what was happening, she hurried to the banquet hall. She said to Belshazzar, “Long live the king! Don’t be so pale and frightened.
• Daniel 6:6So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius!
• Nehemiah 1:3They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
• Psalms 102:14For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets.
• Psalms 137:6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.
• Lamentations 2:9Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground. He has smashed their locks and bars. Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands; her law has ceased to exist. Her prophets receive no more visions from the Lord.
• 2 Chronicles 21:20Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. No one was sorry when he died. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.
• 2 Chronicles 28:27When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal cemetery of the kings of Judah. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.
• 2 Chronicles 32:33When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the upper area of the royal cemetery, and all Judah and Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became the next king.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Let the king live for ever - Far from wishing ill to my master, I wish him on the contrary to live and prosper for ever. Aelian, Hist. Var. lib. i. c. 32, uses the same form of speech in reference to Artaxerxes Mnemon, one of the Persian kings, , ' , "O King Artaxerxes, may you reign for ever," when speaking of the custom of presenting them annually with an offering of earth and water; as if they had said, May you reign for ever over these!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The city … of my fathers‘ sepulchres - We may conclude from this that Nehemiah was of the tribe of Judah, as Eusebius and Jerome say that he was.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Nehemiah showed his loyalty by saying, May the king live forever! (compare Daniel 2:4), but he still admitted his sadness.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-52-5. the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad?--It was deemed highly unbecoming to appear in the royal presence with any weeds or signs of sorrow (Es 4:2); and hence it was no wonder that the king was struck with the dejected air of his cupbearer, while that attendant, on his part, felt his agitation increased by his deep anxiety about the issue of the conversation so abruptly begun. But the piety and intense earnestness of the man immediately…Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 2:3

• Countenance
• Country
• Nehemiah
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

• Gate
• Laugh
• Nehemiah
• Prayer
• Reproach
• Scorn
• Countenance
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Greeting
• Siege

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