Nehemiah 1:4 (DBY)

Passage

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 1:2 that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and [certain] men of Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 1:3 And they said to me, Those who remain, that are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction and reproach; and the wall of Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire.

Nehemiah 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,

Nehemiah 1:5 and said, I beseech thee, Jehovah, God of the heavens, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and keep his commandments.

Nehemiah 1:6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, confessing the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "pass", "heard", "words", "wept", "mourned", "days", and "fasted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "pass", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And they said to me Those who..." into verse 5's "and said I beseech thee Jehovah God...", so "came" and "pass" belong inside that flow. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.