Nehemiah 4:1-10
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Progress in Spite of Opposition
4 [a]When Sanballat(A) heard that we were rebuilding the wall,(B) he became furious. He mocked the Jews(C) 2 before his colleagues and the powerful men[b] of Samaria,(D) and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones(E) back to life from the mounds of rubble?”(F) 3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite,(G) who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox(H) climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!”
4 Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from Your sight, because they have provoked[c] the builders.(I)
6 So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.(J)
7 [d]When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs,(K) Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed,(L) they became furious.(M) 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion. 9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night.
10 In Judah, it was said:[e]
The strength of the laborer fails,
since there is so much rubble.
We will never be able
to rebuild the wall.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 4:1 Neh 3:33 in Hb
- Nehemiah 4:2 Or the army
- Nehemiah 4:5 Or provoked [You] in front of
- Nehemiah 4:7 Neh 4:1 in Hb
- Nehemiah 4:10 Lit Judah said
Nehemiah 4:1-10
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.”
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Nehemiah 4:1-10
The Voice
4 When word of our progress in rebuilding the wall reached Sanballat, he became enraged. His anger spilled over into mockery of the Jews, 2 and before his companions and the Samaritan army, he unleashed a torrent of ridicule and abuse.
It is hard to imagine the intense pressures and various points of opposition that Nehemiah has to deal with. First, he has an internal struggle with those Judeans who have married foreign wives—Babylonian, Edomite, Ammonite, Moabite, Samaritan—and have adopted their religious and cultural behaviors that are quite distinct from what is laid forth for Israel in the law of Moses. Further, Nehemiah has an external struggle with individuals like Sanballat the Moabite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab who are violently opposed to the restoration of Jerusalem and her people. These are ancient political, social, and religious enemies to the Jews, and they will stop at nothing to halt Nehemiah’s rebuilding efforts.
Sanballat: What are these pathetic Jews up to? Will they appoint themselves to put the wall back together? Would offering sacrifices help them? Will this occur in a day’s time? Do they mean to resurrect this charred rubble as a wall?
3 Right beside him, Tobiah the Ammonite joined in the scorn.
Tobiah: What is it these Jews are building? Surely not a wall—a fox climbing upon it could get through their stone work.
Nehemiah: 4 Do You hear this? Are You paying attention, our True God? We are worse than nothing to these men. Turn their curses back on them. Plunder them. Pillage them until they are captives in a foreign land. 5 Do not cover over their wickedness or erase the reality of their sin before you—they have mocked You right in front of the men rebuilding the city for You.
6 We returned to building, focused and determined to work as one people. We stacked rock upon rock until one end of the wall met the other and it grew to half of its original height.
7 When the news that the few remaining gaps in the wall were rapidly closing and our city was beginning to heal reached all the lands surrounding Jerusalem, Sanballat, Tobiah, some Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites all became furious. 8 In fact, they were so upset they devised a plot to attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 9 Our response to this threat was twofold: we prayed to our True God, and we set up a watch—day and night—to look out for them. 10 Even so, everyone was afraid of another attack.
Judeans: Our builders have grown too weary to continue.
Look at all this waste and rubble strewn about the ground.
We are not able to rebuild the wall on this foundation.
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