Nehemiah 2:12-14

The Voice

¹² under the cover of darkness, I was accompanied by a small group of men. The True God had placed a secret plan on my heart, and there I had left it hidden until the time was right. No one knew what it was I imagined for Jerusalem. With my men walking beside me, I mounted and rode around the city. ¹³ At night I went out of Jerusalem through the valley gate, heading toward the dragon well and down to the potsherd gate where the city dumps its trash. As we went, we examined the walls of Jerusalem: they were as bad as we had heard. No stones remained standing, and fire had consumed the gates. ¹⁴ We continued on toward the fountain gate and the pool of the king, but amid the rubble I was unable to continue riding—there was simply no room—