Nehemiah
Nehemiah has 13 chapters. Read Nehemiah in the New Living Translation, chapter by chapter, free and without an account.
Nehemiah recounts the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls under a governor authorized by the Persian king. Opposition, debt, and internal disputes test the returning community. After the wall is completed, Ezra reads the Law, the people confess and renew their commitments, and Jerusalem is repopulated. The book closes with Nehemiah confronting renewed failures in worship and communal life.
In Christian Bibles, Nehemiah is one of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. In the Jewish Tanakh it belongs to the Ketuvim, the Writings. See it on the shelf.
Nehemiah 1: news of Jerusalem's ruins moves Nehemiah to fasting, confession, and prayer.
Nehemiah 2: Artaxerxes commissions Nehemiah, who inspects Jerusalem and calls people to rebuild.
Nehemiah 3: diverse households and workers rebuild Jerusalem's gates and walls together.
Nehemiah 4: builders answer ridicule and threats with prayer, vigilance, and united work.
Nehemiah 5: Nehemiah confronts economic exploitation and models generous, accountable leadership.
Nehemiah 6: Nehemiah resists distraction and intimidation as the wall is completed.
Nehemiah 7: trustworthy guards and remembered households prepare Jerusalem for renewed life.
Nehemiah 8: understood Scripture leads the gathered people from tears to joy and celebration.
Nehemiah 9: the community confesses through a sweeping prayer of failure and enduring mercy.
Nehemiah 10: the restored community makes concrete covenant commitments for faithful life.
Nehemiah 11: willing families and appointed servants repopulate and sustain Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 12: two thanksgiving choirs dedicate Jerusalem's completed wall with great joy.
Nehemiah 13: Nehemiah returns to correct neglected worship, Sabbath trade, and compromise.