Nehemiah 2:17-20

Then Nehemiah told the people in the city about his plan. First, he reminded them of the sad truth. Their city was a *ruin. And they could not be a strong nation while Jerusalem was in such a bad state. So he encouraged them to help him to rebuild the walls. Then he told them some good news. He told them that God wanted them to rebuild the city walls. This was not merely Nehemiah’s plan. Nehemiah was confident that God had sent him (Nehemiah) to lead the people in this task. Already, God was looking after Nehemiah. And even the king had sent him to do this task. This was really good news. So the people agreed that they should start to build the walls.

The people prepared to build the walls. But then their enemies heard about their plans. These enemies could not easily attack the *Jews because the king had sent Nehemiah. The king was very powerful. If Nehemiah’s enemies fought Nehemiah, the king would oppose them. So instead, the enemies laughed at the *Jews. They pretended that they would tell lies to the king about the *Jews. They would say that the *Jews were the enemies of the king.

But Nehemiah was confident. He knew that it was God’s plan to rebuild Jerusalem. So God would help them. The real God of heaven was on their side. God would not let their enemies stop the work. The *Jews would build Jerusalem again. Again, it would be a city for God’s people.

Jews ~ all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Or, just the people from the country called Judah.
Judah ~ the south part of the nation that belonged to the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After the death of King Solomon, the nation split into two, and Judah became a separate country. Then, the inhabitants were called Jews. Judah was also the name of a son of Jacob. God gave the region called Judah to this man’s (Judah’s) descendants.
ancestors ~ people from the same family in previous centuries.
Judah ~ the south part of the nation that belonged to the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After the death of King Solomon, the nation split into two, and Judah became a separate country. Then, the inhabitants were called Jews. Judah was also the name of a son of Jacob. God gave the region called Judah to this man’s (Judah’s) descendants.
Jews ~ all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Or, just the people from the country called Judah.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
Jews ~ all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Or, just the people from the country called Judah.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Judah ~ the south part of the nation that belonged to the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After the death of King Solomon, the nation split into two, and Judah became a separate country. Then, the inhabitants were called Jews. Judah was also the name of a son of Jacob. God gave the region called Judah to this man’s (Judah’s) descendants.
Israel ~ the entire nation that belonged to the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After the death of King Solomon, the nation split into two. The northern part became a separate country, called Israel. Then, the inhabitants were called Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people from the country called Israel. But the word is sometimes used to mean the people who came from the country called Judah too.
Judah ~ the south part of the nation that belonged to the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After the death of King Solomon, the nation split into two, and Judah became a separate country. Then, the inhabitants were called Jews. Judah was also the name of a son of Jacob. God gave the region called Judah to this man’s (Judah’s) descendants.
Jews ~ all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Or, just the people from the country called Judah.
ruin ~ buildings and walls that have fallen down.
Arab ~ a member of a nation that opposed Nehemiah’s plans.