Nehemiah 1:1 (WEB)

Passage

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

Nehemiah 1:2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "words", "nehemiah", "hacaliah", "month", "chislev", "twentieth", "year", and "shushan". 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 "Hanani one of my brothers came he...", 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.