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 ^[a]were behind all the house of Judah.

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.

¹⁵ But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but ^(A)I did not do so, because of the ^(B)fear of God. ¹⁶ Indeed, I also continued the ^(C)work on this wall, and ^[a]we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.