The Meaning of Nehemiah 2:18 Explained

Nehemiah 2:18

KJV: Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

YLT: And I declare to them the hand of my God that is good upon me, and also the words of the king that he said to me, and they say, 'Let us rise, and we have built;' and they strengthen their hands for good.

Darby: And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me; as also of the king's words which he had said unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. And they strengthened their hands for the good work.

ASV: And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work .

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then I told  them of the hand  of my God  which was good  upon me; as also the king's  words  that he had spoken  unto me. And they said,  Let us rise up  and build.  So they strengthened  their hands  for [this] good  [work]. 

What does Nehemiah 2:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Nehemiah 2:12-20 - Braving Ridicule And Treachery
Suspicion, Nehemiah 2:12-20. Sanballat was probably a Moabite, a native of Horonaim; Tobiah had been a slave. There are many descendants of these two men in all our Christian communities today, hindering God's work. This heroic soul met their scorn and the depression of the people by unwavering faith and calm confidence in the good hand of God, Nehemiah 2:18. How small do our difficulties seem when brought into the sight of the God of heaven!
Reproach, Nehemiah 4:1-6. Whenever God's work revives, there is sure to be evil-speaking and reproach. It is a mistake to reply. Let us hand over our cause to God, and go on with His work. It matters very little what men say, as long as He is pleased. Had Nehemiah had the message of Christ he would not have prayed as in Nehemiah 2:5. Our Lord taught us to intercede for our enemies, Matthew 5:44. But let us emulate Nehemiah's zeal for the name of God, and let us remember that increased light means increased responsibility, Matthew 11:11.
Active opposition, Nehemiah 2:7-12. In time of hostility, our friends and allies are apt to grow discouraged and to advise the suspension of our work. "We are not able;" but faith looks to God alone and triumphantly holds on its way. [source]

Chapter Summary: Nehemiah 2

1  Artaxerxes, understanding the cause of Nehemiah's sadness,
6  sends him with letters and commission to Jerusalem
9  Nehemiah, to the grief of the enemies, comes to Jerusalem
12  He views secretly the ruins of the walls
17  He incites the Jews to build

What do the individual words in Nehemiah 2:18 mean?

And I told them - of the hand of my God which was good upon me and also of words of the king that he had spoken to me so they said let us rise up and build And they set their hands to [this] good [work] -
וָאַגִּ֨יד לָהֶ֜ם אֶת־ יַ֣ד אֱלֹהַ֗י אֲשֶׁר־ הִיא֙ טוֹבָ֣ה עָלַ֔י וְאַף־ דִּבְרֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָֽמַר־ לִ֑י וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ נָק֣וּם וּבָנִ֔ינוּ וַיְחַזְּק֥וּ יְדֵיהֶ֖ם לַטּוֹבָֽה פ

וָאַגִּ֨יד  And  I  told 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יַ֣ד  of  the  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
אֱלֹהַ֗י  of  my  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
טוֹבָ֣ה  good 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
עָלַ֔י  upon  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וְאַף־  and  also 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: אַף  
Sense: also, yea, though, so much the more adv.
דִּבְרֵ֥י  of  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ  of  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אָֽמַר־  he  had  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לִ֑י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙  so  they  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נָק֣וּם  let  us  rise  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common plural
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
וּבָנִ֔ינוּ  and  build 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common plural
Root: בָּנָה  
Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
וַיְחַזְּק֥וּ  And  they  set 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: חָזַק  
Sense: to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore.
יְדֵיהֶ֖ם  their  hands 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person masculine plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
לַטּוֹבָֽה  to  [this]  good  [work] 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation