Nehemiah 4-6

New American Standard Bible

Work Is Ridiculed

4 ^[a]Now it came about that when ^(A)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. ² And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and ^(B)the ^[b]wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the ^(C)heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?” ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—^(D)if a fox were to ^[c]jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

^4 (E)Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! ^(F)Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not ^[d](G)forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have ^[e]demoralized the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a ^[f]mind to work.

^7 [g]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the ^[h]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went ^[i]on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them ^(H)conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Discouragement Overcome

⁹ But we prayed to our God, and because of them we ^(I)set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ And so ^[j]in Judah it was said:

¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “^[k]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” ¹³ then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I ^(J)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “^(K)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and ^(L)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that ^(M)God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. ¹⁶ And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon. ¹⁸ As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while ^[l]the trumpeter stood near me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. ^(N)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from ^[m]dawn until the stars ^[n]appeared. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us ^[o]removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.

Charging Interest Abolished

5 Now ^(O)there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their ^(P)Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let’s ^(Q)get grain so that we may eat and live.” ³ And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ There also were those who said, “We have borrowed money ^(R)for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ And now ^(S)our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, ^(T)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and ^[p]we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ Then I was very ^(U)angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “^(V)You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, ^(W)have ^[q]redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of ^(X)the taunting of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s ^[r]do without this interest. ¹¹ Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We ^(Y)will give it back and ^(Z)will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them ^(AA)take an oath to act in accordance with this ^[s]promise. ¹³ I ^(AB)also shook out the ^[t]front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this ^[u]promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And ^(AC)all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this ^[v]promise.

Nehemiah’s Example

¹⁴ Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from ^(AD)the twentieth year to the ^(AE)thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. ¹⁵ But the previous governors who were before me ^[w]laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so ^(AF)because of my fear of God. ¹⁶ I also ^[x]applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, ^(AG)there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ¹⁸ Now ^(AH)that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all sorts of wine were provided in abundance. Yet for all this ^(AI)I did not request the governor’s food allowance, because the forced labor was heavy on this people. ^19 (AJ)Remember me, my God, for good, in return for all that I have done for this people.

The Enemy’s Plot

6 Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach was left in it, ^(AK)although at that time I had not installed the doors in the gates, ² Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let’s meet together ^[y]at Chephirim in the plain of ^(AL)Ono.” But they were plotting to ^[z]harm me. ³ So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” ⁴ Then they sent messages to me four times worded in this way, and I answered them with the same wording. ⁵ Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written: “It is reported among the nations, and ^[aa]Gashmu says, that ^(AM)you and the Jews intend to rebel; for that reason you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. ⁷ You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning ^[ab]you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let’s consult together.” ⁸ Then I sent a message to him saying, “Nothing like these things that you are saying has been done, but you are ^(AN)inventing them ^[ac]in your own mind.” ⁹ For all of them were trying to frighten us, ^[ad]thinking, “^[ae]They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, ^(AO)God, strengthen my hands.

¹⁰ When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, ^(AP)who was confined at home, he said, “Let’s meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.” ¹¹ But I said, “^(AQ)Should a man like me flee? And who is there like me who would go into the temple ^[af]to save his own life? I will not go in.” ¹² Then I realized ^[ag]that God certainly had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ He was hired for this reason, ^(AR)that I would become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could taunt me. ^14 (AS)Remember, my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in accordance with these works of theirs, and also Noadiah ^(AT)the prophetess and the rest of the prophets, who were trying to frighten me.

The Wall Is Finished

¹⁵ So ^(AU)the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ^16 (AV)When all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they ^[ah]lost their confidence; for ^(AW)they realized that this work had been accomplished ^[ai]with the help of our God. ¹⁷ Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and ^[aj]Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹ Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in my presence, and were reporting my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.