Nehemiah 1:1 (LSB)

Passage

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year—and I was in Susa the capitol—

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year—and I was in Susa the capitol—

Nehemiah 1:2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and remain from the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 1:3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who remain from the captivity are in great calamity and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "words", "nehemiah", "hacaliah", "happened", "month", "chislev", "twentieth", and "year". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "words" and "nehemiah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "that Hanani one of my brothers and...", so "words" and "nehemiah" should be read forward into that movement. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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