15 Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.
16 And the rulers did not know where I had gone, or what I had done; I had not yet told it to the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the rulers, or the rest who did the work.
17 Then I said to them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, and also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.