Nehemiah 2:3

Neh 2:3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, [lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

Ver. 3. And I said unto the king] After he had pulled up his best heart, and recovered his spirits, he declareth unto the king the cause of his sadness. How ready should our tongues be to lay open our cares to the God of all comfort, when we see Nehemiah so quick in the expressions of his sorrow to an uncertain ear.

Let the king live for ever] i.e. Very long. Let him not suspect, by my sadness, that I have any evil intent or treasonable design against him; for I heartily wish his welfare. It was not court holy water (as they call it) wherewith he here besprinkles his prince; it was not counterfeit courtesy; such as was that of Squier the traitor, A.D. 1597, sent by Walpole the Jesuit, to poison the pummel of Queen Elizabeth’s saddle, when she was to ride abroad; which also he did (but without effect), saying cheerfully at the same time, God save the Queen. Saluta libenter greet gladly, is by many practised, from the teeth outward; but by Nehemiah, heartily.

Why should not my countenance be sad?] In time of common calamities there is just cause of a general sadness, "should we then make mirth?" Eze 21:10. The Romans severely punished one that showed himself out of a window with a garland on his head in the time of the Punic war, when it went ill with the commonwealth. Justinus, the good emperor of Constantinople, took the downfall of the city of Antioch by an earthquake so much to heart, that it caused him a grievous fit of sickness, A.D. 527. When Pope Clement and his cardinals were imprisoned by the duke of Bourbon’s men in St Angelo, Caesar in Spain forbade all interludes to be played, &c. In France, the duke of Bourbon was condemned of treason, his name and memorial were accursed, his arms pulled down, his lands and goods confiscated. In England, King Henry was extremely displeased. Cardinal Wolsey wept tenderly, and emptied the land of 288,000 pounds to relieve and ransom the distressed pope.

When the city, the place of my fathers’ sepalchres] A good argument to a heathen, who set great store by (as now the Papists keep great stir about) their burial places; as if one place were holier than another for that purpose: a mere device to pick poor men’s purses.

And the gates thereof are consumed with fire] The Jews at this day, when they build a house, they are, say the Rabbis, to leave one part of it unfinished, and lying rude, in remembrance that Jerusalem and the temple are, at present, desolate (Hist. of Rites of Jews, by Leo Moden.). At least, they use to leave about a yard square of the house unplastered, on which they write in great letters that of the Psalmist, If I forget Jerusalem, then let my right hand forget her cunning, Psa 137:5, or else these words, Zecher Lechorbon, The memory of the desolation.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 2:3. Let the king live for ever — My sadness comes not from any disaffection to the king, for whom my hearty prayers are that he may live for ever, but from another cause. Why should I not be sad, when the place of my fathers’ sepulchres lieth waste? — Which by all nations are esteemed sacred and inviolable. He says not a word for the temple, as he spake before a heathen king, who cared for none of these things. There is a regard due to one’s own country, which ought not to be extinguished by the pleasure or plenty of any other. It is not a weakness to be deeply affected with the distresses, or for the death of our friends and relations, at what distance secret we are from them; nor can any prosperity in another country excuse a man for not being so much afflicted for any calamity that befalls his own as not to entertain mirth and jollity in his heart. Nehemiah was in no mean station when he was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, and we may very reasonably suppose, from the grace and bounty which that great king showed him, that he might have had any honour or preferment he would have requested in that great and flourishing empire; yet when that great king discerned that there was sorrow of heart in his countenance, and demanded the reason of it, he made no other excuse but, Jerusalem lay waste: and when the king so graciously invited him to ask some favour worthy of his royal bounty, he would require nothing else but permission and power to go and relieve his country. The grievances of the church, but especially its desolations, ought to be a grief to all good people, and will to all that have a concern for God’s honour, and are of a public spirit.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:3 Nehemiah affirmed his loyalty with the customary long live the king (cp. Dan 2:4), yet he did not deny his sadness.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. Let the king live for ever] Far from wishing ill to my master, I wish him on the contrary to live and prosper for ever. AELIAN, Hist. Var. lib. i. c. 32, uses the same form of speech in reference to Artaxerxes Mnemon, one of the Persian kings, Βασιλευ Αρταξερξη, δι' αιωνος βασιλευοις, "O King Artaxerxes, may you reign for ever," when speaking of the custom of presenting them annually with an offering of earth and water; as if they had said, May you reign for ever over these!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Nehemiah’s family was of Jerusalem. He does not as yet betray to the king the deepest desire of his heart, but simply refers to the desecration of his fathers’ sepulchres, an appeal which had great force with the Persians, who respected the tomb.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Let the king live for ever] For this formula opening an address to a king see Dan_2:4; Dan_3:9. Cf. 1Ki_1:31.

why should not my countenance be sad?] i.e. how could it be otherwise than sad?

the place of my fathers’ sepulchres] ‘the place,’ literally ‘the house:’ compare 1Sa_25:1; 1Ki_2:34, where Samuel and Joab are said to have been buried each ‘in his own house.’ This is explained by comparing 2Ki_21:18, ‘Manasses … was buried in the garden of his own house,’ with 2Ch_33:20, ‘they buried him (Manasses) in his own house.’ Rich families had their own private places of sepulture (rock-hewn tombs, caves and the like). Nehemiah’s words would be particularly appropriate if he was, as some have supposed, a descendant of the royal house. The tombs of David and the kings of Jerusalem seem to have been cut out of the rock on the S. side of the Ophel hill, cf. Neh_3:16.

consumed] Literally ‘eaten up,’ as in Neh_2:13. The more usual phrase is ‘burned,’ as in Neh_1:3, Neh_2:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I said unto the king, let the king live for ever,.... Which some think he said to take off the king's suspicion of his having a design upon his life, though it seems to be a common salutation of the kings in those times, see Dan 6:6,

why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? a man's native place, and where his ancestors lie interred, being always reckoned near and dear, the king and his nobles could not object to his being concerned for the desolations thereof.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The city ... of my fathers’ sepulchres - We may conclude from this that Nehemiah was of the tribe of Judah, as Eusebius and Jerome say that he was.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Live; an usual salutation, Daniel iii. 9., and v. 10. So Ælian (var. i. 32.) says, "O king Artaxerxes, mayst thou reign for ever." --- Father, ver. 5. He knew that the Persians shewed great regard to the dead, (Calmet; Tirinus) whose bodies they sometimes cover with wax, and keep in their house, (Cic.[Cicero?] Tusc. i.; Alex. Genial iii. 2.) or inter. (Herodotus i. 140.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Let the king live forever: my sadness comes not from any discontent with my own condition, or any disaffection to the king, for whom my hearty prayers are that he may live forever; but from another cause.

The place of my fathers’ sepulchres, which by all nations are esteemed sacred, and inviolable, and honourable. He saith not a word of the temple, or of religion, for he wisely considered that he spake before a heathen king and court, who cared for none of those things.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Let the king live forever — A common form of royal salutation. Compare marginal references.

The city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres — A touching allusion, calculated to affect the hearts both of the king and the queen. Nehemiah here calls Jerusalem, literally, the house of the graves of his fathers, and hence it has been inferred that he was of the seed of David, whose royal sons were “buried in the city of David,” (1Ki_14:31; 1Ki_15:24, etc.;) so that city was, in fact, the very house of their graves.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

May the king live for ever. A common form of Oriental compliment, (1Ki_1:31 Dan_2:4 Dan_3:9, etc.) but said now with special intention to conciliate, and meant to express a deep interest in the royal life and person. The city, the place of my fathers" sepulchres. We see by this that Nehemiah"s family must have belonged to the capital. The Persians, like the Jews, had a great respect for the tomb, and regarded its violation with horror. Artaxerxes would naturally sympathise with the wish of his follower to give security to the city where his ancestors were interred. It would seem that the Persians generally at this time (Herod., 1:140), the kings certainly ("Ancient Monarchies," vol. 3. p. 231, second edition), buried their dead. Lieth waste. Nehemiah"s warmth of feeling exaggerates the fact; but he may have been unconscious of the exaggeration. He repeats the phrase to the chief men of Jerusalem after making his survey of the wall (ver. 17).

Sadness, when and how far justifiable.

"Why should not my countenance be sad?

I SADNESS IS OFTEN JUSTIFIABLE, OR EVEN COMMENDABLE.

1. Under great troubles. Stoicism is neither natural nor Christian. Troubles are meant to trouble us. If they do not, they afford no trial to faith and patience, and cannot effect their purpose for discipline and improvement.

2. Under the consciousness of sin. In view of its essential evil as committed against God, his rights, laws, and goodness; its injuriousness to ourselves and to others; its final consequences unless forgiven.

3. In sympathy with the troubles of others. Which makes them our own. Christian fellow, ship includes community of suffering. "If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.

4. On account of the sins of others. (Psa_119:136, 158 Eze_9:4 Php_3:18)

5. On account of the troubles of the Church. Nehemiah"s sadness was honourable to him.

II YET SADNESS SHOULD NOT BE INCONSOLABLE.

1. It need not. For a sure remedy is furnished in the truths and promises of the gospel, and the ever-available aid of the Holy Spirit.

2. It ought not. For faith and prayer, opening the heart to the Divine consolations, and securing the Divine aid, would turn sadness into peace, if not joy. Those cases are, however, to be excepted where melancholy springs from physical causes, and needs bodily rather than spiritual treatment.

III SADNESS SHOULD NEVER BE PREDOMINANT IN THE CHRISTIAN. For his habitual sadness of spirit, countenance, or speech

1. Dishonours God.

2. Robs himself. Counteracting the design of our religion, everywhere prominent in the New Testament. "That they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves." "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer." "The kingdom of God is... joy in the Holy Ghost." "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy," etc. "These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

3. Hinders Christian service. "The joy of the Lord is your strength.

4. Retards the progress of religion. Discouraging inquirer, and giving occasion to adversaries to speak ill of the religious life.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Why should, &c. - All the grievances of the church, but especially its desolations, ought to be matter of grief to all good people, to all that have a concern for God's honour, and are of a public spirit.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

May the king live forever

Nehemiah is showing honor to King Artaxerxes. Here "forever" is an exaggeration that refers to a long life. AT: "Long live the king" or "May the king have a long life" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

Why should not my face be sad?

Here Nehemiah uses this rhetorical question to tell the king that he has a reason to be sad. This can be written as a statement. AT: "I have very good reasons to be sad." (See: Rhetorical Question)

the place of my fathers' tombs

"the place where my ancestors are buried"

its gates have been destroyed by fire

This can be stated in active form. AT: "fire has destroyed its gates" or "our enemy has burned its gates" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

king

life

eternity

face

ancestor

grave

ruin

gate

fire

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Why should my countenance not be sad [as translated,] why should my countenance not be sad.

when the city Jerusalem, which is the place of the graves of my forefathers, is laid waste.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.