Nehemiah 2:9-18

⁹ And I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of a force and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

Nehemiah Encourages the People to Rebuild the Walls

¹¹ And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. ¹² And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me—but I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem—and there was no beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon. ¹³ And I went out by night by the valley-gate, even toward the jackal-fountain, and to the dung-gate; and I viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were in ruins, and its gates were consumed with fire. ¹⁴ And I went on to the fountain-gate, and to the king's pool; and there was no place for the beast under me to pass. ¹⁵ And I went up in the night through the valley, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the valley-gate and returned. ¹⁶ And the rulers did not know whither I went or what I did, for I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. ¹⁷ And I said to them, Ye see the distress that we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. ¹⁸ And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me; as also of the king's words which he had said unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. And they strengthened their hands for the good [work].