1. Nehemiah 2:20 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does Nehemiah mean with his parting words, “But you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem”?

Nehemiah 2:20 (ESV)

20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

The three words portion, right, claim amount to synonyms, with their juxtaposition piling up the message that these three enemies are not part of God’s people and so cannot be part of those to whom God is restoring their promised land, that is, Israel (Ezekiel 11:17; Ezekiel 36:24; Jeremiah 29:10–14). So whatever God would do in Jerusalem could not advantage these men as long as they remain spiritual outsiders.