¹⁸ Then I told them that the hand of my God had been good to me, and I also told them the words the king had said to me.

They said, “Let’s get up and rebuild!” Then they encouraged each other for this good work.

¹⁹ When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they ridiculed us and held us in contempt. They said, “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”