But when Sanballat, Tobiah,(A) the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.

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Opposition to the Rebuilding

[a]When Sanballat(A) heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 4:1 In Hebrew texts 4:1-6 is numbered 3:33-38, and 4:7-23 is numbered 4:1-17.

10 When Sanballat(A) the Horonite and Tobiah(B) the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.(C)

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17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war(A) against the rest of her offspring(B)—those who keep God’s commands(C) and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.(D)

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12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens(A)
    and you who dwell in them!
But woe(B) to the earth and the sea,(C)
    because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

13 When the dragon(D) saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.(E)

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33 When they heard this, they were furious(A) and wanted to put them to death.

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17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.(A)

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13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(B) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,

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20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;(A) all the kings of the Philistines(B) (those of Ashkelon,(C) Gaza,(D) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod);

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Ashkelon(A) will see it and fear;
    Gaza will writhe in agony,
    and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
    and Ashkelon will be deserted.
A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
    and I will put an end(B) to the pride of the Philistines.

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I will destroy the king[a] of Ashdod(A)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(B) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(C) are dead,”(D)
says the Sovereign Lord.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants

Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!(A)” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated(B) and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,(C) therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East(D) as a possession. They will set up their camps(E) and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.(F) I will turn Rabbah(G) into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep.(H) Then you will know that I am the Lord. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands(I) and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,(J) therefore I will stretch out my hand(K) against you and give you as plunder(L) to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy(M) you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(N)’”

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23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married(A) women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.(B) 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language(C) of Judah.

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19 But when Sanballat(A) the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem(B) the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us.(C) “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

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The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work(A) is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

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Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[a](A) They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,[b](B) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.(C)

And in the days of Artaxerxes(D) king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic(E) language.[c][d]

Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates(F)—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk(G) and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,(H) 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal(I) deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.(J)

11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:

12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.(K)

13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty(L) will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.[e] 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives(M) of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed.(N) 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 4:4 Or and troubled them as they built
  2. Ezra 4:6 Hebrew Ahasuerus
  3. Ezra 4:7 Or written in Aramaic and translated
  4. Ezra 4:7 The text of 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic.
  5. Ezra 4:13 The meaning of the Aramaic for this clause is uncertain.

He went to war against the Philistines(A) and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod.(B) He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs(C) who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.(D) The Ammonites(E) brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

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Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[a](B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites

The Lord sent Babylonian,[a](A) Aramean,(B) Moabite and Ammonite raiders(C) against him to destroy(D) Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 24:2 Or Chaldean

David Defeats the Ammonites(A)

10 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash,(B) just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out(C) and overthrow it?” So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard,(D) cut off their garments at the buttocks,(E) and sent them away.

When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

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