Nehemiah Sent to Judah

1 In the month of Nisan, ^win the twentieth year of King ^xArtaxerxes, when wine was before him, ^yI took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but ^zsadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, ^a“Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, ^bwhen the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed ^cto the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (^dthe queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me ^ewhen I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me ^fto the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 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 ^gthe 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, ^hfor the good hand of my God was upon me.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

9 Then I came to ⁱthe governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when ^jSanballat the Horonite and ^kTobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

11 ^lSo I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by ^mthe Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to ⁿthe Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem ^othat were broken down ^pand its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to ^qthe Fountain Gate and to ^rthe King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night ^sby the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, ^thow Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer ^usuffer derision.” 18 And I told them ^vof the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” ^wSo they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and ^xGeshem the Arab heard of it, ^ythey jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^zAre you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, ^a“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim¹ in Jerusalem.”

Rebuilding the Wall

1 Then ^bEliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built ^cthe Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and ^dset its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the ^eTower of Hananel. 2 And next to him ^fthe men of Jericho built. And next to them² Zaccur the son of Imri built.

3 The sons of Hassenaah built ^gthe Fish Gate. ^hThey laid its beams and ^dset its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4 And next to them ⁱMeremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them ^jMeshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. 5 And next to them ^kthe Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.³

6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah ^lrepaired the Gate of Yeshanah.^{4 h}They laid its beams and ^dset its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7 And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of ^mthe governor of the province Beyond the River. 8 Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ⁿthe Broad Wall. 9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^oruler of half the district of⁵ Jerusalem, repaired. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^pthe Tower of the Ovens. 12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^qruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^rthe Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and ^sset its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits⁶ of the wall, as far as ^tthe Dung Gate.

14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of ^uBeth-haccherem, repaired ^tthe Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and ^sset its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

15 And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired ^vthe Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and ^sset its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of ^wthe Pool of Shelah of ^xthe king’s garden, as far as ^ythe stairs that go down from the city of David. 16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite ^zthe tombs of David, as far as ^athe artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. 17 After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. 18 After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at ^bthe buttress.⁷ 20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired⁸ another section from the buttress to the door of the house of ^cEliashib the high priest. 21 After him ^dMeremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22 After him the priests, the men of ^ethe surrounding area, repaired. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. 24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to ^fthe corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at ^gthe court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh 26 ^hand the temple servants living on ⁱOphel repaired to a point opposite ^jthe Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27 After him ^kthe Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

28 Above ^lthe Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him ^mMeshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite ⁿhis chamber. 31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,⁹ and to the upper chamber of the corner. 32 And between the upper chamber of the corner and ^othe Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

¹ Of David, when he ⁿchanged his behavior before ^oAbimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^yAnd as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^zThere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 And as he sat on ^athe Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^bPeter and James and John and ^cAndrew asked him ^dprivately, 4 “Tell us, ^ewhen will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, ^f“See that no one leads you astray. 6 ^gMany will come in my name, saying, ^h‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ⁱdo not be alarmed. This ^jmust take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For ^knation will rise against nation, and ^lkingdom against kingdom. There will be ^mearthquakes in various places; there will be ⁿfamines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 ^o“But ^pbe on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten ^qin synagogues, and you will stand before ^rgovernors and ^skings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed ^uto all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say ^wwhatever is given you in that hour, ^xfor it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 ^yAnd brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 ^zAnd you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^aBut the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

14 “But when you see ^bthe abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (^clet the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 ^dLet the one who is on ^ethe housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And ^falas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be ^gsuch ^htribulation as has not been ⁱfrom the beginning of the creation that ^jGod created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for ^kthe sake of the elect, whom ^lhe chose, he shortened the days. 21 And ^mthen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 ⁿFor false christs and false prophets will arise and ^operform signs and wonders, ^pto lead astray, if possible, ^qthe elect. 23 But ^rbe on guard; ^sI have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man

24 “But in those days, after ^tthat tribulation, ^uthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and ^vthe stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see ^wthe Son of Man coming in clouds ^xwith great power and glory. 27 And then ^yhe will send out the angels and ^zgather ^ahis elect from ^bthe four winds, from ^cthe ends of the earth ^dto the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, ^eat the very gates. 30 ^fTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 ^gHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^hmy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, ⁱno one knows, not even the angels in heaven, ^jnor the Son, ^kbut only the Father. 33 ^lBe on guard, ^mkeep awake.¹ For you do not know when the time will come. 34 ⁿIt is like a man ^ogoing on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants² in charge, ^peach with his work, and commands ^qthe doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 ^rTherefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^sin the evening, or ^sat midnight, or ^twhen the rooster crows,³ or ^uin the morning— 36 lest ^vhe come suddenly and ^wfind you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: ^rStay awake.”