Nehemiah 2:20

Green's Literal Translation

Then I answered them and said to them, The God of Heaven, He will prosper us, and we, His servants, will arise and build. But you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I gave them this reply, “The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

Hebrew Names Version
Then answered I them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Yerushalayim.

King James Version
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

English Standard Version
Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem."

New Century Version
But I answered them, "The God of heaven will give us success. We, his servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no share, claim, or memorial in Jerusalem."

New English Translation
I responded to them by saying, "The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem."

Amplified Bible
I answered them, "The God of heaven [has appointed us for His purpose and] will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem."

New American Standard Bible
So I answered them and said to them, "The God of heaven will make us successful; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no part, right, or memorial in Jerusalem."

World English Bible
Then answered I them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then answered I them, and sayd to them, The God of heauen, he will prosper vs, and we his seruants will rise vp and buylde: but as for you, ye haue no portion nor right, nor memoriall in Ierusalem.

Legacy Standard Bible
So I responded to them with a word and said to them, "The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His slaves will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem."

Berean Standard Bible
So I answered them and said, "The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no portion, right, or claim in Jerusalem."

Contemporary English Version
I answered, "We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history."

Complete Jewish Bible
But I answered them: "The God of heaven will enable us to succeed. Therefore we his servants will set about rebuilding. But you have no share, right or history to commemorate in Yerushalayim."

Darby Translation
And I answered them, and said to them, The God of the heavens, he will prosper us, and we his servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.

Easy-to-Read Version
But this is what I said to them: "The God of heaven will help us succeed. We are God's servants and we will rebuild this city. You cannot help us in this work because none of your family lived here in Jerusalem. You don't own any of this land, and you have no right to be in this place."

George Lamsa Translation
Then I answered them and said, The God of heaven has delivered us: therefore we are working, standing firm, and building; but you have no right nor memorial nor portion in Jerusalem.

Good News Translation
I answered, "The God of Heaven will give us success. We are his servants, and we are going to start building. But you have no right to any property in Jerusalem, and you have no share in its traditions."

Lexham English Bible
Then I answered and said to them, "The God of the heavens himself will let us succeed, and we his servants shall arise and build. But for you there is no share, right, or memorial in Jerusalem."

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then answered I them, and sayde: The God of heauen shal cause vs to prospere: for we his seruauntes are gotten vp, & are buyldinge. As for you, ye haue no porcio ner right, ner remembraunce in Ierusale.

American Standard Version
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Bible in Basic English
Then answering them I said, The God of heaven, he will be our help; so we his servants will go on with our building: but you have no part or right or any name in Jerusalem.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then aunswered I them, and sayde: The God of heauen, he it is that hath graunted vs prosperitie, and we his seruauntes will get vp and buylde: As for you, ye haue no portion, nor right, nor remembraunce in Hierusalem.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then answered I them, and said unto them: 'The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.'

King James Version (1611)
Then answered I them, and said vnto them, The God of heauen, he will prosper vs, therefore wee his seruants will arise and build: But you haue no portion, nor right, nor memoriall in Ierusalem.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.

English Revised Version
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y yeldide to hem a word, and seide to hem, God hym silf of heuene helpith vs, and we ben hise seruauntis; rise we, and bilde; forsothe part and riytfulnesse and mynde in Jerusalem is not to you.

Update Bible Version
Then I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his slaves will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

New King James Version
So I answered them, and said to them, "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem."

New Living Translation
I replied, "The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem."

New Life Bible
I answered them, "The God of heaven will make it go well for us. So we His servants will get up and build. But you have no share or right or anything to be remembered in Jerusalem."

New Revised Standard
Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building; but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then answered I them, and said to them - The God of the heavens - he, will prosper us, therefore, we his servants, will arise and build, - But, to you, pertaineth no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I answered them, and said to them: The God of heaven he helpeth us, and we are his servants: let us rise up and build: but you have no part, nor justice, nor remembrance in Jerusalem.

Revised Standard Version
Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build; but you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem."

Young's Literal Translation
And I return them word, and say to them, `The God of the heavens -- He doth give prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.'

THE MESSAGE
I shot back, "The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We're his servants and we're going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this—Jerusalem's none of your business!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So I answered them and said to them, "The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem."

Contextual Overview

⁹ Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. And the king had sent army commanders and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ And Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard. And it grieved them greatly that a man had come to seek the good of the sons of Israel. ¹¹ So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² And I rose up in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem. And there was no animal with me except the animal that I rode on. ¹³ And I went out by night by the Valley Gate, even before the Jackal Fountain, and to the Dung Gate. And I examined the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and its gates which were burned with fire. ¹⁴ Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate, and to the King's Pool. But there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass. ¹⁵ Then I went up in the night by the torrent, and examined the wall, and turned back, and entered by the Valley Gate, and returned. ¹⁶ And the rulers did not know where I had gone, or what I was doing. Nor had I told it yet to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the rulers, or to the rest that did the work. ¹⁷ Then I said to them, You see the evil that we are in, how Jerusalem is wasted, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be a reproach. ¹⁸ Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, and also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they made their hands strong for good.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The God: Nehemiah 2:4, 2 Chronicles 26:5, Psalms 20:5, Psalms 35:27, Psalms 102:13, Psalms 102:14, Psalms 122:6, Ecclesiastes 7:18

ye have no: Ezra 4:3, Acts 8:21

memorial: Exodus 28:29, Leviticus 2:2, Leviticus 24:7, Numbers 10:10, Isaiah 56:5, Zechariah 6:14, Acts 10:4, Acts 10:31, When Nehemiah had prayed for the relief of his countrymen, and perhaps in David's words, Psalms 51:18, he did not sit still and say, "Let God now do his own work, for I have no more to do;" but set himself to do what he could towards it; and here we find that the people were of one heart with Nehemiah. Our prayers must be seconded with our serious endeavours, or else we mock God. Nearly four months had passed, namely, from Chisleu to Nisan - November to March before Nehemiah made his application to the king for leave to go to Jerusalem; either because the winter was not a proper time for such a journey, and he would not make a motion till he could pursue it, or because it was so long before his month of waiting upon the king came, and there was no coming into his presence until called for, Esther 4:11. We are not thus limited to certain moments in our addresses to the King of kings, but have liberty of access to him at all times; to the throne of grace we never come unseasonably.

Reciprocal: Genesis 39:3 - prosper Exodus 39:7 - a memorial Leviticus 26:9 - for I Joshua 22:25 - ye have Isaiah 36:5 - that

Cross-References

Genesis 2:18
And Jehovah God said, It is not good, the man being alone. I will make a helper suited to him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then answered I them, and said unto them,.... With much spirit and boldness, not at all intimidated by their scoffs or threats:

the God of heaven, he will prosper us; whom we serve, and under whose protection we are, who will supply us with everything we want, and succeed this undertaking, in whose name we engage in it, and on whom we depend, and we care not what man can do to us:

therefore we his servants will arise and build; in spite of all opposition, difficulties, and discouragements:

but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem; no part of the city belonged to them; they had no jurisdiction there; they had no name there, nor their ancestors, in times past; nor had they done anything to perpetuate their memory in it: in short, they had nothing to do with them, neither in religious nor in civil things; and it was best for them to mind their own affairs where they presided, and not trouble themselves about theirs.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Nehemiah 2:20. Ye have no portion, nor right — To be a citizen of Jerusalem was a high honour; and they would not permit those who did not belong to the tribes of Israel to dwell there. Zerubbabel gave the same answer to the Samaritans, Ezra 4:3.