Nehemiah 2:3

3 "May the king live forever!" I said to the king. "Why shouldn't I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?"

Nehemiah 2:3 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 2:3

And I said unto the king, let the king live for ever
Which some think he said to take off the king's suspicion of his having a design upon his life, though it seems to be a common salutation of the kings in those times, see ( Daniel 6:6 Daniel 6:21 ) ,

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?
a man's native place, and where his ancestors lie interred, being always reckoned near and dear, the king and his nobles could not object to his being concerned for the desolations thereof.

Nehemiah 2:3 In-Context

1 In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes' twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before.

2 The king asked me, "Why do you look so sad? You aren't sick, are you? You must be troubled about something." (I was really afraid.)

3 "May the king live forever!" I said to the king. "Why shouldn't I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?"

4 "What do you want?" the king asked me. So I prayed to the God of heaven,

5 and I asked the king, "If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it."