When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Parallel translations
- WEB When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned several days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
- KJV And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
- NKJV So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- NASB Now when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- NLT When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hearing the news, Nehemiah weeps, mourns, fasts, and prays for days before "the God of heaven." His response models how grief over sin and ruin should drive us to God rather than to mere despair or schemes.
Overview
Nehemiah does not rush immediately to action but first sits in sustained mourning and turns to prayer and fasting. His title for God, "the God of heaven," affirms the LORD's sovereign rule even over the Persian empire. This pattern—genuine sorrow leading to earnest, prolonged prayer—shows that true reform begins on one's knees, and it anticipates the believer's call to bring every burden to the throne of grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Dan 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Ps 137:1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
- Ezra 10:1While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
- Ps 69:9–10because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
- Ps 102:13–14You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor—the appointed time has come.
- Neh 2:4“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven
- Zeph 3:18“I will gather those among you who grieve over the appointed feasts, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
- Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Dan 2:18urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
- Ezra 9:3When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
- Ezra 5:11–12And this is the answer they returned: “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.
- Jonah 1:9“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
- 1 Sam 4:17–22The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 1:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.