Nehemiah 2:17-20
17Then I said to them, “You see the calamity we are in, that aJerusalem lies waste and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” 18And I told them how the hand of my God had been good to me and also about the king’s words which he had said to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” aSo they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite 1official and aGeshem the Arab heard it. And bthey mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? cAre you rebelling against the king?” 20So I responded to them with a word and said to them, “aThe God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His slaves will arise and build, bbut you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem.”