12 About that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict and oppress and torment some who belonged to the church (assembly).

² And he killed James the brother of John with a sword;

³ And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread [the Passover week].

⁴ And when he had seized [Peter], he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him, purposing after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church (assembly).

⁶ The very night before Herod was about to bring him forth, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

⁷ And suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared [standing beside him], and a light shone in the place where he was. And the angel gently smote Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, Get up quickly! And the chains fell off his hands.

⁸ And the angel said to him, Tighten your belt and bind on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, Wrap your outer garment around you and follow me.

⁹ And [Peter] went out [along] following him, and he was not conscious that what was apparently being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰ When they had passed through the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate which leads into the city. Of its own accord [the gate] swung open, and they went out and passed on through one street; and at once the angel left him.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, Now I really know and am sure that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting [to do to me].

¹² When he, at a glance, became aware of this [^[a]comprehending all the elements of the case], he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where a large number were assembled together and were praying.

¹³ And when he knocked at the gate of the porch, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴ And recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she failed to open the gate, but ran in and told the people that Peter was standing before the porch gate.

¹⁵ They said to her, You are crazy! But she persistently and strongly and confidently affirmed that it was the truth. They said, It is his angel!

¹⁶ But meanwhile Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the gate and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷ But motioning to them with his hand to keep quiet and listen, he related to them how the Lord had delivered him out of the prison. And he said, Report all this to James [the Less] and to the brethren. Then he left and went to some other place.

¹⁸ Now as soon as it was day, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

¹⁹ And when Herod had looked for him and could not find him, he placed the guards on trial and commanded that they should be led away [to execution]. Then [Herod] went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed on there.

²⁰ Now [Herod] cherished bitter animosity and hostility for the people of Tyre and Sidon; and [their deputies] came to him in a united body, and having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was nourished by and depended on the king’s [country] for food.

²¹ On an appointed day Herod arrayed himself in his royal robes, took his seat upon [his] throne, and addressed an oration to them.

²² And the assembled people shouted, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!

²³ And at once an angel of the Lord smote him and cut him down, because he did not give God the glory (the preeminence and kingly majesty that belong to Him as the supreme Ruler); and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But the Word of the Lord [concerning the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God] continued to grow and spread.

²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem when they had completed their mission, bringing with them John whose surname was Mark.^(A)

4 But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and in a great rage, and he ridiculed the Jews.

² And he said before his brethren and the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things [at will and by themselves]? Will they [try to bribe their God] with sacrifices? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?

³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, What they build—if a fox climbs upon it, he will break down their stone wall.

⁴ [And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity.

⁵ Cover not their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have vexed [with alarm] the builders and provoked You.

⁶ So we built the wall, and all [of it] was joined together to half its height, for the people had a heart and mind to work.

⁷ But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were going up and that the breaches were being closed, they were very angry.

⁸ And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem, to injure and cause confusion and failure in it.

⁹ But because of them we made our prayer to our God and set a watch against them day and night.

¹⁰ And [the leaders of] Judah said, The strength of the burden bearers is weakening, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to work on the wall.

¹¹ And our enemies said, They will not know or see till we come into their midst and kill them and stop the work.

¹² And when the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, You must return [to guard our little villages]; from all places where they dwell they will be upon us.

¹³ So I set [armed men] behind the wall in places where it was least protected; I even thus used the people as families with their swords, spears, and bows.

¹⁴ I looked [them over] and rose up and said to the nobles and officials and the other people, Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

¹⁵ And when our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated their purpose, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

¹⁶ And from that time forth, half of my servants worked at the task, and the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah.

¹⁷ Those who built the wall and those who bore burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other hand,

¹⁸ And every builder had his sword girded by his side, and so worked. And he who sounded the trumpet was at my side.

¹⁹ And I said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people, The work is great and scattered, and we are separated on the wall, one far from another.

²⁰ In whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.

²¹ So we labored at the work while half of them held the spears from dawn until the stars came out.

²² At that time also I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that at night they may be a guard to us and a laborer during the day.

²³ So none of us—I, my kinsmen, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—took off our clothes; each kept his weapon [in his hand for days].

5 Now there arose a great cry of the [poor] people and of their wives [driven to borrowing] against their Jewish brethren [the few who could afford to lend].

² For some said, We, our sons and daughters, are many; therefore allow us to take grain, that we may eat and live! If we are not given grain, let us take it!

³ Also some said, We are mortgaging our lands, vineyards, and houses to buy grain because of the scarcity.

⁴ Others said, We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards to pay the [Persian] king’s heavy tax.

⁵ Although our flesh is the same as that of our brethren and our children are as theirs, yet we are forced to sell our children as slaves; some of our daughters have already been thus sold, and we are powerless to redeem them, for others have our lands and vineyards.

⁶ I [Nehemiah] was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.

⁷ I thought it over and then rebuked the nobles and officials. I told them, You are exacting interest from your own kinsmen. And I held a great assembly against them.

⁸ I said to them, We, according to our ability, have bought back our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations; but will you even sell your brethren, that they may be sold to us? Then they were silent and found not a word to say.

⁹ Also I said, What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts and reproach of the nations, our enemies?

¹⁰ I, my brethren, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this forbidden interest!^(A)

¹¹ Return this very day to them their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also a hundredth of all the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have exacted from them.

¹² Then they said, We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say. Then I called the priests and took an oath of the lenders that they would do according to this promise.

¹³ I shook out my lap and said, So may God shake out every man from his house and from [the exercise and fruits of] his labor who does not keep this promise! So may he be shaken out and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise.

¹⁴ Also, in the twelve years after I was appointed to be their governor in Judah, from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, neither I nor my kin ate the food allowed to [me] the governor.

¹⁵ But the former governors lived at the expense of the people and took from them food and wine, besides forty shekels of silver [a large monthly official salary]; yes, even their servants assumed authority over the people. But I did not so because of my [reverent] fear of God.

¹⁶ I also held fast to the work on this wall; and we bought no land. And all my servants were gathered there for the work.

¹⁷ And there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations about us.

¹⁸ Now these were prepared for each day: one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days a store of all sorts of wine. Yet for all this, I did not demand [my rights] the food allowed me as governor, for the [tribute] bondage was heavy upon this people.

¹⁹ O my God, [earnestly] remember me for good for all I have done for this people.^(B)

6 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates,

² Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they intended to do me harm.

³ And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave to come down to you?

⁴ They sent to me four times this way, and I answered them as before.

⁵ Then Sanballat sent his servant to me again the fifth time with an open letter.

⁶ In it was written: It is reported among the neighboring nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore you are building the wall, that you may be their king, according to the report.

⁷ Also you have set up prophets to announce concerning you in Jerusalem, There is a king in Judah. And now this will be reported to the [Persian] king. So, come now and let us take counsel together.

⁸ I replied to him, No such things as you say have been done; you are inventing them out of your own heart and mind.

⁹ For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, Their hands will be so weak that the work will not be done. But now strengthen my hands!

¹⁰ I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up. He said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you—at night they are coming to kill you.

¹¹ But I said, Should such a man as I flee? And what man such as I could go into the temple [where only the priests are allowed to go] and yet live? I will not go in.

¹² And behold, I saw that God had not sent him, but he made this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

¹³ He was hired that I should be made afraid and do as he said and sin, that they might have matter for an evil report with which to taunt and reproach me.

¹⁴ My God, think on Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have put me in fear.

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

¹⁶ When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us feared and fell far in their own esteem, for they saw that this work was done by our God.

¹⁷ Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and 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 son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

¹⁹ Also they spoke of [Tobiah’s] good deeds before me and told him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.