"They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. … Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. … So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.""
— Nehemiah 1:3-4; 2:17-18; 6:15-16 (NIV)
People who search bible verses about Nehemiah want Scripture on Nechemyah — Nehemiah the cupbearer who wept over Jerusalem's broken wall and led the rebuild in fifty-two days — not only perseverance alone, leadership alone, or prayer alone as generic themes. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about perseverance, Bible verses about leadership, Bible verses about prayer, Bible verses about faith, Bible verses about trust, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about obedience, Bible verses about courage, Bible verses about Esther, Bible verses about Ezra, Bible verses about Joshua, Bible verses about Jesus, Bible verses about Christ, and Bible verse of the day. Nehemiah here means the cupbearer-builder of the book of Nehemiah — distinct from generic perseverance lists and from Esther or Ezra exclusives alone.
Word study (lead theme). In Hebrew, נְחֶמְיָה Nechemyah (Strong's H5166; Bible Hub H5166) — Nehemiah ("Yah comforts"). In Nehemiah 1 he hears the wall is broken and prays; in Nehemiah 2 he calls the people to rebuild; in Nehemiah 6 the wall is finished in fifty-two days. This list tracks that Nehemiah inventory — not perseverance-alone twelve or leadership-alone twelve.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Nehemiah 1 presses Nehemiah's grief and prayer when he hears Jerusalem's wall is down (Bible Hub MHC Nehemiah 1; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 1). (Perseverance, leadership, and prayer pages live elsewhere; this list centers Nehemiah.)
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12 Bible verses about Nehemiah
Nehemiah 1:3-4. "They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." Wall broken — Nehemiah wept and prayed. See Bible verses about prayer.
Nehemiah 1:5-6. "Then I said: "Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel."" Great and awesome God — prayer day and night. See Bible verses about faith.
Nehemiah 1:11. "Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king." Cupbearer — favor before the king. See Bible verses about trust.
Nehemiah 2:4-5. "The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it."" I prayed — send me to rebuild. See Bible verses about prayer.
Nehemiah 2:17-18. "Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work." Come, let us rebuild — gracious hand of God. See Bible verses about leadership.
Nehemiah 4:6. "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart." Half height — worked with all their heart. See Bible verses about perseverance.
Nehemiah 4:14. "After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."" Remember the Lord — fight for your families. See Bible verses about courage.
Nehemiah 4:17-18. "who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me." One hand work — one hand weapon. See Bible verses about perseverance.
Nehemiah 6:3. "so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?"" Great project — cannot go down. See Bible verses about obedience.
Nehemiah 6:9. "They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."" Strengthen my hands. See Bible verses about prayer.
Nehemiah 6:15-16. "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." Wall completed — fifty-two days; help of our God. See Bible verses about faith.
Nehemiah 8:1. "all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel." Ezra reads the Law — after the wall. See Bible verses about Ezra.
How to use these verses
Pick one verse when you need Nehemiah — not twelve as a grind. If you need the broken-wall report and prayer, start at Nehemiah 1:3–4. If you need the call to rebuild, open Nehemiah 2:17–18. If you need the fifty-two-day finish, open Nehemiah 6:15–16. For Esther's courage in Persia, open Bible verses about Esther. For Ezra the scribe who taught the Law, open Bible verses about Ezra. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
Questions people ask
What is a good Bible verse about Nehemiah?
Nehemiah 1:3–4 is the clear starting place; Nehemiah 2:17–18 and 6:15–16 press the rebuild call and the wall finished in fifty-two days.
How do Bible verses about Nehemiah differ from perseverance alone?
Perseverance pages gather enduring in general. This list centers Nehemiah the cupbearer — weeping, praying, and rebuilding Jerusalem's wall.
What Hebrew word sits under Nehemiah?
Nechemyah (H5166) — Nehemiah ("Yah comforts").
Why isn't a generic leadership list the exclusive center of this page?
Those exclusive leadership leads stay on the leadership hub so the lists stay distinct (this page owns the Nehemiah wall-rebuild inventory above).
How is Nehemiah different from Ezra alone?
Ezra pages gather the scribe of the Law. This list centers Nehemiah who rebuilt the wall and then stood with the people when Ezra read.
