Nehemiah 2:18

18 And I told them of the hand of God which was good upon me, also about the words of the king which he spoke to me: and I said, Let us arise and build. And their hands were strengthened for the good .

Nehemiah 2:18 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 2:18

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.
&c.] Of the kind providence of God in exalting him in the court of the king of Persia, in giving him an opportunity of laying the sad case of Jerusalem before him, and in inclining his heart to show favour to him, and grant his request:

as also the king's words that he had spoken to me;
what passed between them on this subject, the commission he gave him, and the letters he sent by him to his governors on this side the river:

and they said, let us rise up and build;
encouraged by this account of things, they proposed to set about the work immediately:

so they strengthened their hands for this good work;
animated and encouraged one another to proceed to it at once with cheerfulness, and to go on in it with spirit and resolution.

Nehemiah 2:18 In-Context

16 And the sentinels knew not why I went, nor what I was doing; and until that time I told not to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the captains, or to the rest who wrought the works.

17 Then I said to them, Ye see this evil, in which we are, how Jerusalem is desolate, and her gates have been set on fire: come, and let us build throughout the wall of Jerusalem, and we shall be no longer a reproach.

18 And I told them of the hand of God which was good upon me, also about the words of the king which he spoke to me: and I said, Let us arise and build. And their hands were strengthened for the good .

19 And Sanaballat the Aronite, and Tobia the servant, the Ammonite, and Gesam the Arabian, heard , and they laughed us to scorn, and came to us, and said, What this thing that ye are doing? are ye revolting against the king?

20 And I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he shall prosper us, and we his servants are pure, and we will build: but ye have no part, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.