Contemplative Bible Reading

Nehemiah 6:12 (New Living Translation) 12 I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Nehemiah is writing these words. Nehemiah and the people have finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, but there is still more work to complete. […]

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Nehemiah 6:15-16 (New Living Translation) 15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. 16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. Those exiles who returned to Jerusalem […]

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Nehemiah 8:10 (New Living Translation) 10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Nehemiah […]

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Nehemiah 8:8 (New Living Translation) 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. Some of God’s people have returned to Jerusalem after a 70-year exile. The Priests are reading the Book of the Law of God. […]

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Nehemiah 6:16 (New Living Translation) When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. God’s people had finished rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. This task—given the puny resources applied to it—was not possible. The enemies of […]

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Nehemiah 13:23-25 (New Living Translation) 23 About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Furthermore, half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all. 25 So I […]

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Nehemiah 9:36-37 (New Living Translation) 36 “So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land. 37 The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because […]

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Nehemiah 2:7-8 (The Living Bible) 7 Then I added this to my request: “If it pleases the king, give me letters to the governors west of the Euphrates River instructing them to let me travel through their countries on my way to Judah; 8 also a letter the Asap, the manager of the king’s forest, […]

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Nehemiah 13:31b Remember me, O my God, for good. Nehemiah prayed often. Sometimes about big things and sometimes about little things. One of the lessons I learned from Nehemiah is that with God there are probably fewer little and big things than there are with me. One of the prayers Nehemiah says several times is […]

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Nehemiah 13:15-18 (New Living Translation) 15 In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling […]

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