Nechemyah 4
Orthodox Jewish Bible
4 (3:33) But it came to pass, that when Sanvalat heard that we were rebuilding the Chomah, he was angered, took great indignation, mocked the Yehudim.
2 (3:34) And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Shomron, and said, What do these feeble Yehudim? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the avanim out of the heaps of the burned rubble?
3 (3:35) Now Toviyah the Ammoni was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox climb up on it, even he shall break down their chomat avanim.
4 (3:36) Shema, Eloheinu, for we are despised; turn their insults upon their own head, and give them as plunder in a land of captivity;
5 (3:37) And cover not their avon, and let not their chattat be blotted out from before thee, for they threw insults in the face of HaBonim.
6 (3:38) So we rebuilt HaChomah, and kol HaChomah was joined together unto half the height thereof, for HaAm had a mind to work.
7 (4:1) But it came to pass, that when Sanvalat, and Toviyah, and the Arabs, and the Ammonim, and the Ashdodim, heard about the Chomat Yerushalayim, that its repairs had gone ahead, and that the gaps began to be closed up, then they were very angry,
8 (4:2) And they plotted all of them together to come and to fight against Yerushalayim, and to hinder it.
9 (4:3) Nevertheless we davened unto Eloheinu, and set a watch against them yomam valailah, because of them.
10 (4:4) And Yehudah said, The koach of the bearers of burdens is giving out, and there is much rubble, so that we are not able to rebuild the Chomah (Wall).
11 (4:5) And our adversaries said, They shall have no da’as, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the melachah (work) to cease.
12 (4:6) And it came to pass, that when the Yehudim which dwelt near them came, they said unto us eser p’amim, Wherever ye turn, they will be upon us.
13 (4:7) Therefore set I behind the lower places of the Chomah, and on the exposed places, I even set HaAm by their mishpekhot with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 (4:8) And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the Nobles, and to the Officials, and to the rest of HaAm, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember Adonoi HaGadol vHaNorah, and fight for your achim, your banim, and your banot, your nashim, and your batim.
15 (4:9) And it came to pass, when our enemies were aware that it was known unto us, and HaElohim had brought their etzah (plan) to nought, that we returned all of us to HaChomah, every one unto his melachah (work).
16 (4:10) And it came to pass from that day forth, that half of my men did the melachah, and the other half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the body armor; and the officials posted themselves behind Kol Bais Yehudah
17 (4:11) Who were HaBonim BaChomah. And they that bore burdens, carried their loads such that each one with one of his hands did the melachah, and with the other hand held a weapon.
18 (4:12) For the Bonim, every one had his cherev girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the shofar was by me.
19 (4:13) And I said unto the Nobles, and to the Officials, and to the rest of haAm, The melachah is great and spread out, and we are separated along the Chomah, one far from another.
20 (4:14) In what place therefore ye hear the kol haShofar, rally ye thither unto us; Eloheinu shall fight for us.
21 (4:15) So we labored in the melachah, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn till the kokhavim appeared.
22 (4:16) Likewise at the same time said I unto HaAm, Let every one with his servant lodge within Yerushalayim, that in halailah they may be a mishmar (guard) to us, and at hayom a melachah (workman).
23 (4:17) So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my men, nor the anshei hamishmar (the men of the guard) which followed me, none of us put off our clothes; every one carried his weapon, even when he went for water.
Nehemiah 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem was progressing—for the gaps were beginning to be closed up—they became extremely angry. 2 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to throw us into confusion. 3 We prayed to our God and posted a watch against them day and night for fear of what they might do. 4 Meanwhile the Judahites were saying:
“Slackened is the bearers’ strength,
there is no end to the rubbish;
Never will we be able
to rebuild the wall.”
5 Our enemies thought, “Before they are aware of it or see us, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work.”
6 When the Jews who lived near them had come to us from one place after another, and had told us ten times over that they were about to attack us, 7 I stationed guards down below, behind the wall, near the exposed points, assigning them by family groups with their swords, spears, and bows. 8 I made an inspection, then addressed these words to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: “Do not fear them! Keep in mind the Lord, who is great and to be feared, and fight for your kindred, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes.” 9 When our enemies realized that we had been warned and that God had upset their plan, we all went back, each to our own task at the wall.
10 (A)From that time on, however, only half my work force took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah 11 as they rebuilt the wall. The load carriers, too, were armed; each worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. 12 Every builder, while working, had a sword tied at his side. A trumpeter stood beside me, 13 for I had said to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: “Our work is scattered and extensive, and we are widely separated from one another along the wall; 14 wherever you hear the trumpet sound, join us there; our God will fight with us.” 15 Thus we went on with the work, half with spears in hand, from daybreak till the stars came out.
16 At the same time I told the people to spend the nights inside Jerusalem, each with an attendant, so that they might serve as a guard by night and a working force by day. 17 Neither I, nor my kindred, nor any of my attendants, nor any of the bodyguard that accompanied me took off our clothes; everyone kept a weapon at hand.
Nehemiah 4
New King James Version
The Wall Defended Against Enemies
4 But it so happened, (A)when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”
3 Now (B)Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”
4 (C)Hear, O our God, for we are despised; (D)turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! 5 (E)Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7 Now it happened, (F)when Sanballat, Tobiah, (G)the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the [a]gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, 8 and all of them (H)conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 9 Nevertheless (I)we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
10 Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
11 And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
12 So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”
13 Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, (J)“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, (K)great and awesome, and (L)fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and (M)that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders [b]were behind all the house of Judah. 17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. 18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. (N)Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we labored in the work, and half of [c]the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. 22 At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” 23 So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 4:7 Lit. breaks
- Nehemiah 4:16 Supported
- Nehemiah 4:21 Lit. them
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Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
