¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the misery that we are in, that Jerusalem is ruined and its gates burned by the fire. Come, build the walls of Jerusalem and we shall no longer be a disgrace.” ¹⁸ I told them of the good hand of my God that was upon me and surely the words of the king that were spoken to me. And they said, “Let us arise and build!” And they strengthened their hands for this good work. ¹⁹ But Sanballat the Horonite, the Ammonite servant Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard it, and they mocked and despised us, saying, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”