Nehemiah 4
Complete Jewish Bible
4 (7) But when Sanvalat, Toviyah, the Arabs, the ‘Amonim and the Ashdodim heard that the repairs on the walls of Yerushalayim were going forward, and the breaks were being filled in, they became very angry. 2 (8) All of them together plotted to come and fight against Yerushalayim and thus throw us into confusion. 3 (9) However, we prayed to our God and, because of them, organized a watch against them day and night. 4 (10) Y’hudah was saying, “The strength of the people who carry loads away is starting to fail, and there is so much rubble that we can’t build the wall.” 5 (11) Our enemies were saying, “They won’t know or see anything, until we have already infiltrated them and begun killing them and stopping the work.” 6 (12) And even the Judeans living near them came and must have said to us ten times, “From every place you must come back to us.”
7 (13) So in the lower parts of the space behind the wall, I stationed men according to their families, with their swords, spears and bows. 8 (14) After inspecting them, I stood up and addressed the nobles, leaders and the rest of the people: “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember Adonai, who is great and fearful; and fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, wives and homes.” 9 (15) When our enemies heard that the plot was known to us, and God had foiled their plans, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 10 (16) From then on, half of my men would do the work; and half of them held the spears, shields, bows and armor; while the leaders stood guard behind the entire house of Y’hudah, 11 (17) as they continued building the wall. Those who carried loads held their loads with one hand and carried a weapon in the other. 12 (18) As for the construction-workers, each one had his sword sheathed at his side; that is how they built. The man to sound the alarm on the shofar stayed with me. 13 (19) I said to the nobles, the leaders and the rest of the people, “This is a great work, and it is spread out; we are separated on the wall, one far from another. 14 (20) But wherever you are, when you hear the sound of the shofar, come to that place, to us. Our God will fight for us!”
15 (21) So we kept doing the work. Half of them held spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. 16 (22) Also at that time I told the people, “Let everyone with a servant stay the night within Yerushalayim, so that at night they can be a guard for us, even as they work during the day.” 17 (23) I, my kinsmen, my servants and my bodyguards never took off our clothes, and everyone who went to get water took his weapon.
Nehemiah 4
The Message
“I Stationed Armed Guards”
4 1-2 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he exploded in anger, vilifying the Jews. In the company of his Samaritan cronies and military he let loose: “What are these miserable Jews doing? Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight? Make building stones out of make-believe?”
3 At his side, Tobiah the Ammonite jumped in and said, “That’s right! What do they think they’re building? Why, if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight.”
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4-5 Nehemiah prayed, “Oh listen to us, dear God. We’re so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads; have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return; don’t forgive their iniquity, don’t wipe away their sin—they’ve insulted the builders!”
6 We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height because the people had a heart for the work.
7-9 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem were going so well—that the breaks in the wall were being fixed—they were absolutely furious. They put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could. We countered with prayer to our God and set a round-the-clock guard against them.
10 But soon word was going around in Judah,
The builders are pooped,
the rubbish piles up;
We’re in over our heads,
we can’t build this wall.
11-12 And all this time our enemies were saying, “They won’t know what hit them. Before they know it we’ll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!” The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, “They have us surrounded; they’re going to attack!” If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.
13-14 So I stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable places of the wall and assigned people by families with their swords, lances, and bows. After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: “Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15-18 Our enemies learned that we knew all about their plan and that God had frustrated it. And we went back to the wall and went to work. From then on half of my young men worked while the other half stood guard with lances, shields, bows, and mail armor. Military officers served as backup for everyone in Judah who was at work rebuilding the wall. The common laborers held a tool in one hand and a spear in the other. Each of the builders had a sword strapped to his side as he worked. I kept the trumpeter at my side to sound the alert.
19-20 Then I spoke to the nobles and officials and everyone else: “There’s a lot of work going on and we are spread out all along the wall, separated from each other. When you hear the trumpet call, join us there; our God will fight for us.”
21 And so we kept working, from first light until the stars came out, half of us holding lances.
22 I also instructed the people, “Each person and his helper is to stay inside Jerusalem—guards by night and workmen by day.”
23 We all slept in our clothes—I, my brothers, my workmen, and the guards backing me up. And each one kept his spear in his hand, even when getting water.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson