Nehemiah 2:1
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
2 so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
- KJV
- And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
- WEB
- In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I picked up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence.
- ASV
- And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been [beforetime] sad in his presence.
- DARBY
- And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence.
- BLB
- And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine was before his face, and I lifted up the wine and gave it to the king. And never had I been sad before his face.
- ÅB
- dere måneden nisan i kong Artaxerxes' tyvende år traff det seg engang så at det var satt vin fram for ham; jeg tok da vinen og rakte kongen den, og han hadde alltid hatt godhet for meg.
- OTB
- I måneden Nisan, i det tjuende året til kong Artaxerxes, da vin var foran ham, tok jeg vinen og ga den til kongen. Jeg hadde ikke vært trist i hans nærvær før.
- B1930
- I måneden nisan i kong Artaxerxes' tyvende år traff det sig engang så at det var satt vin frem for ham; jeg tok da vinen og rakte kongen den, og han hadde alltid hatt godhet for mig.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Ezra 7:1
Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
Read in contextNehemiah 1:11
O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)
Read in contextNehemiah 1:1
These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
Read in contextEzra 7:7
So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
Read in contextEsther 3:7
In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
Read in context