Nehemiah 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Sanballat and Tobiah Mock the Jews’ Work
4 [a]Now it happened that when (A)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and very vexed and mocked the Jews. 2 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and (B)the [b]wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they complete it in a day? Can they bring the stones to life from the [c](C)dusty rubble, though they are burned?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—(D)if a fox should [d]jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”
4 (E)Hear, O our God, for we are despised! (F)Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not [e](G)forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have [f]vexed the builders.
6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, and the people had a heart to work.
7 [g]Now it happened that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the [h]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the places broken down began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them (H)joined together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. 9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we (I)stood a guard against them day and night.
10 Then Judah said,
“The [i]strength of the burden bearers is failing,
Yet there is much [j]rubbish;
And we ourselves are unable
To rebuild the wall.”
11 Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” 12 Now it happened when the Jews who lived near them came and said to us ten times, “[k]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” 13 that I had men stand in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the [l]exposed places, and I (J)had the people stand by families with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “(K)Do not fear them; remember the Lord who is great and fearsome, and (L)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Doing the Work and Holding a Weapon
15 Now it happened that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that (M)God had thwarted their counsel, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16 And it happened that from that day on, half of my young men carried on the work while half of them took hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. 17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18 As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while [m]the trumpeter stood near me. 19 I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. 20 At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, there gather together to us. (N)Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we kept doing the work with half of them holding spears from [n]dawn until the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his young man spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a worker by day.” 23 So neither I, my brothers, my young men, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 4:1 Ch 3:33 in Heb
- Nehemiah 4:2 Or army
- Nehemiah 4:2 Lit heaps of dust
- Nehemiah 4:3 Lit go up
- Nehemiah 4:5 Lit cover
- Nehemiah 4:5 Or offended against
- Nehemiah 4:7 Ch 4:1 in Heb
- Nehemiah 4:7 Lit healing
- Nehemiah 4:10 Lit power
- Nehemiah 4:10 Lit dust
- Nehemiah 4:12 As in Gr; Heb omits They...up
- Nehemiah 4:13 Lit bare
- Nehemiah 4:18 Lit he who sounded the trumpet
- Nehemiah 4:21 Lit rising of the dawn
Nehemiah 4
New Living Translation
Enemies Oppose the Rebuilding
4 [a]Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices?[b] Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”
4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of[c] the builders.”
6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.
7 [d]But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. 9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.
10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”
11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”
12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!”[e] 13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.
14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. 16 But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. 18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.
19 Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!”
21 We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard. 22 I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day. 23 During this time, none of us—not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me—ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water.[f]
Footnotes
- 4:1 Verses 4:1-6 are numbered 3:33-38 in Hebrew text.
- 4:2 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 4:5 Or for they have thrown insults in the face of.
- 4:7 Verses 4:7-23 are numbered 4:1-17 in Hebrew text.
- 4:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 4:23 Or Each carried his weapon in his right hand. Hebrew reads Each his weapon the water. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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