13 chapters. Pick a chapter, then pick a grade.
Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king in Susa, heard that the survivors in Judah were in great trouble and that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates burned. He sat down and wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. He praised God who keeps covenant, confessed the sins of Israel, remembered God's promise to gather His people, and asked God to give him mercy before the king.
Nehemiah was sad before King Artaxerxes, and the king asked him why. Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven and asked to go and rebuild Jerusalem. The king granted letters and timber, because the good hand of God was on Nehemiah. Sanballat and Tobiah were grieved. Nehemiah inspected the walls by night, then told the leaders of God's good hand, and they said, Let's rise up and build. When enemies mocked, Nehemiah answered that the God of heaven would prosper them.
Nehemiah 3 lists the people who rebuilt the wall and gates of Jerusalem. Eliashib the high priest and the priests built the sheep gate and sanctified it. Families, goldsmiths, perfumers, rulers, Levites, and men from nearby towns each repaired a section, many across from their own houses. Shallum repaired with his daughters. The nobles of the Tekoites did not put their necks to the Lord's work, but the Tekoites themselves repaired two sections.
Sanballat and Tobiah mocked the builders, saying even a fox would break down their stone wall. Nehemiah prayed, and the people built the wall to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. When enemies plotted to attack, the people prayed and set a watch day and night. Nehemiah told them not to be afraid but to remember the Lord, who is great and awesome. Half worked while half stood guard, the builders worked with a tool in one hand, and a trumpeter stood by Nehemiah, for our God will fight for us.
There was a great cry of the people against their fellow Jews. Some had to mortgage fields, vineyards, and houses to buy grain during a famine, and some had to borrow to pay the king's tribute, and their children were brought into bondage. Nehemiah was very angry and rebuked the nobles and rulers for exacting usury. They agreed to restore the fields and stop charging interest, and they swore to it. As governor for twelve years, Nehemiah did not take the governor's food allowance, because the bondage was heavy on the people, and he fed many at his table. He prayed, Remember me, my God, for all the good that I have done for this people.
Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem tried four times to lure Nehemiah away to harm him, but he answered, I am doing a great work, so that I can't come down. They sent an open letter with false reports, but Nehemiah said these things were invented and prayed, strengthen my hands. A hired prophet urged him to hide in the temple, but Nehemiah saw that God had not sent him. The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days, and the nations perceived that this work was done by our God.
When the wall was built and the doors set up, Nehemiah appointed gatekeepers, singers, and Levites. He put his brother Hanani and Hananiah, a faithful man who feared God above many, in charge of Jerusalem, with instructions to open the gates only when the sun was hot and to set watches. The city was large but the people were few. God put it into Nehemiah's heart to gather the people, and he found the genealogy of those who came up at the first. The chapter repeats that list, the total of 42,360, and the freewill gifts for the work, and the people lived in their cities.
All the people gathered as one man at the water gate and asked Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses. Ezra read from early morning until midday, and all the people listened attentively. When he opened the book, all the people stood up, and they answered with Amen, Amen, and worshiped Yahweh. The Levites read distinctly and gave the sense, so that the people understood. The people wept when they heard the law, but Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites told them this day was holy, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength. They celebrated with great joy and kept the feast of booths, hearing the law read every day.
On the twenty-fourth day of the month the people assembled with fasting and sackcloth, separated themselves from foreigners, and confessed their sins. They read the law for a quarter of the day and confessed and worshiped for another quarter. The Levites led a long prayer praising God as Creator and retelling His faithfulness: calling Abraham, rescuing Israel from Egypt, leading by cloud and fire, giving the law, feeding them with manna, and bringing them into the land. Again and again Israel rebelled, and again and again God, who is gracious and merciful, did not forsake them. The prayer ended by confessing their present distress and making a sure covenant in writing.
Nehemiah the governor, the priests, the Levites, and the chiefs of the people sealed the covenant. The rest of the people, with their wives and children who had understanding, joined them and bound themselves with an oath to walk in God's law given by Moses. They promised not to give their children in marriage to the peoples of the land, to keep the Sabbath and the seventh year, to give a third of a shekel yearly for the service of God's house, to bring wood for the altar, and to bring firstfruits, firstborn, and tithes. They ended, We will not forsake the house of our God.
The princes of the people lived in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine stayed in the other cities. The people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem. The chapter lists the heads of Judah, Benjamin, the priests, the Levites, and the gatekeepers who lived in Jerusalem, with the overseers and those who led thanksgiving in prayer, and then the villages where the rest of Judah and Benjamin lived.
The chapter lists the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel and Jeshua and their families in later generations. At the dedication of the wall, the Levites were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate with thanksgiving, singing, cymbals, harps, and lyres. The priests and Levites purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall. Two great thanksgiving choirs went on the wall in opposite directions and met at the house of God. They offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy, and the women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away. Men were appointed over the storerooms, and the people gave portions to the singers and gatekeepers.
When the law was read, the people separated from Israel the mixed multitude. While Nehemiah was away with the king, Eliashib the priest had prepared a room in God's house for Tobiah. Nehemiah returned, threw out Tobiah's belongings, and had the rooms cleansed. He found the Levites had not received their portions, so he contended with the rulers and Judah brought the tithes. He saw people working and selling on the Sabbath and shut the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. He contended with those who had married foreign wives whose children could not speak the language of Judah, reminding them how Solomon sinned. Nehemiah prayed repeatedly that God would remember him for good.