Hostile Plots Thwarted

4 ^[a]Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews.^{(A) 2} He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it by themselves?^[b] Will they offer sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish—burned ones at that?”^{(B) 3} Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “That stone wall they are building—any fox going up on it would break it down!”^{(C) 4} Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.^{(D) 5} Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have raged against the builders.^[c](E)

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

^7 [d]But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry^{(F) 8} and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. ⁹ So we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.^(G)

¹⁰ But Judah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.” ¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, “From all the places where they live^[e] they will come up against us.”^{[f] 13} So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families,^[g] with their swords, their spears, and their bows.^{(H) 14} After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your households.”^(I)

¹⁵ When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.^{(J) 16} From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor, and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah ¹⁷ who were building the wall. The burden bearers carried their loads in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and with the other held a weapon. ¹⁸ And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. ²⁰ Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us.”^(K)

²¹ So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from break of dawn until the stars came out. ²² I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” ²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me ever took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand.^[h]

Salutation

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving and Encouragement

³ I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.^{(A) 4} Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.^{(B) 6} For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.^(C)

⁸ Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, in the power of God,^{(D) 9} who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace, and this grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,^{[a](E) 10} but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ,^[b] who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.^{(F) 11} For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher,^{[c](G) 12} and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day the deposit I have entrusted to him.^{[d](H) 13} Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.^{(I) 14} Guard the good deposit entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

¹⁵ You are aware that all who are in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain;^{(J) 17} when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly^[e] searched for me and found me ¹⁸ —may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus.^(K)

Nehemiah Deals with Oppression

5 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin.^{(A) 2} For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.” ³ There were also those who said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.” ⁴ And there were those who said, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax.^{(B) 5} Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”^(C)

⁶ I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. ⁷ After thinking it over, I contended with the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.” And I called a great assembly to deal with them^{(D) 8} and said to them, “As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations, but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.^{(E) 9} So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?^{(F) 10} Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. ¹¹ Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them take an oath to do as they had promised.^{(G) 13} I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.^(H)

The Generosity of Nehemiah

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.^{(I) 15} The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.^{(J) 16} Indeed, I devoted myself to the work on this wall and acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, there were at my table one hundred fifty people, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.^{(K) 18} Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days skins of wine in abundance, yet with all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because of the heavy burden of labor on the people.^{(L) 19} Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.^(M)

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,^{(A) 18} of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.”^{(B) 19} He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.^{(C) 20} By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. ²¹ By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.”^{(D) 22} By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.^[a](E)

The Faith of Moses

²³ By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.^{[b](F) 24} By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He considered abuse suffered for the Christ^[c] to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered as though^[d] he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.^[e](G)

The Faith of Other Israelite Heroes

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.^{(H) 30} By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.^{(I) 31} By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient,^[f] because she had received the spies in peace.^(J)

³² And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,^{(K) 34} quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.^{(L) 35} Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.^{(M) 36} Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment.^{(N) 37} They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two;^[g] they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented^(O)— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.^(P)

³⁹ Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.^(Q)