Nehemiah 4
English Standard Version
Opposition to the Work
4 [a] Now when (A)Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of (B)Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?[b] Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 (C)Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—(D)if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” 4 (E)Hear, O our God, for we are despised. (F)Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 (G)Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7 [c] But when (H)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 that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 (I)And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
10 In Judah it was said,[d] “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” 11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”[e] 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, (J)“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, (K)who is great and awesome, (L)and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
The Work Resumes
15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us (M)and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and (N)coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 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 (O)the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. (P)Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the 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 within Jerusalem, 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, none of us took off our clothes; (Q)each kept his weapon at his right hand.[f]
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 4:1 Ch 3:33 in Hebrew
- Nehemiah 4:2 Or Will they commit themselves to God?
- Nehemiah 4:7 Ch 4:1 in Hebrew
- Nehemiah 4:10 Hebrew Judah said
- Nehemiah 4:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Nehemiah 4:23 Or his weapon when drinking
Nehemiah 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.