Nehemiah 2:16
What does Nehemiah 2:16 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 2:16 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 2:16 means
Nehemiah notes that the rulers and various groups—Jews, priests, nobles, officials, and workers—did not know where he had gone or what he had done. He had not yet told anyone. This deliberate silence guarded the mission from premature debate and from enemies who would relish inside information. It also prevented discouragement before he could frame the work with faith and facts. Leadership sometimes keeps counsel until the time is ripe. Nehemiah is not secretive by habit but strategic for the sake of the people and the project entrusted to him by God and affirmed by the king.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And the chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing; and I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And the prefects have not known whither I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the freemen, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, hitherto I have not declared <FI>it<Fi> ;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752But the magistrates knew not whither I went, or what I did: neither had I as yet told any thing to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the magistrates, or to the rest that did the work.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And the rulers did not know whither I went or what I did, for I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
Context
This statement follows the completed night inspection and immediately precedes Nehemiah’s public appeal. It explains the freshness and authority of his coming words: they are based on firsthand knowledge, not rumor, and have not been diluted by committee. The next verse will reveal his call to build, grounded in the dire condition he has just seen and his resolve to remove Jerusalem’s reproach.
v.15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.
v.16This passage
v.17Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
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