Nehemiah 4:1-14
Expanded Bible
Those Against the Rebuilding
4 When Sanballat heard we were rebuilding the wall, he was very angry, even furious. He ·made fun of [mocked; ridiculed] the Jewish people. 2 He said to his ·friends [colleagues; L brothers] and ·those with power in [or the army/aristocracy of] Samaria, “What are these ·weak [feeble; pathetic] Jews doing? Will they ·rebuild the wall [or leave it all to God]? Will they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in one day? Can they ·bring stones back to life from piles of trash and ashes [revive stones from piles of rubble—burnt stones at that]?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was ·next to Sanballat [L beside him], said, “If a fox climbed up on the stone wall they are building, it would break it down.”
4 I prayed, “Hear us, our God. We are ·hated [despised]. Turn the ·insults [taunts; sneers] of Sanballat and Tobiah back on their own heads. ·Let them be captured and stolen like valuables [Send them as plunder to a land of exile]. 5 Do not ·hide [cover; ignore] their guilt or ·take away [blot out] their sins so that you can’t see them, because they have ·insulted [deeply offended; or demoralized] the builders.”
6 So we rebuilt [L and connected/joined together] the wall to half its height, because the people were ·willing to [enthusiastic in their; L had a heart to] work.
7 But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod were very angry when they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls were continuing and that the ·holes [gaps; breaches] in the wall were being closed. 8 So they all made plans to come to Jerusalem and fight and ·stir up trouble [cause confusion/a disturbance]. 9 But we prayed to our God and appointed guards ·to watch for [L against] them day and night.
10 The people of Judah said, “The ·workers are getting tired [strength of the laborers is failing]. There is so much ·trash [debris; rubble] we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 And our enemies said, “·The Jews [L They] won’t know or see anything until we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”
12 Then the Jewish people who lived near our enemies came and ·told [warned] us repeatedly [L ten times], “·Everywhere you turn [From every direction], the enemy will attack us.” 13 So I ·put [stationed] people behind the lowest places along the wall—the ·open [exposed] places—and I ·put families together [stationed people by families] with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 ·Then I looked around and [After an inspection, I] stood up and said to the ·important men [nobles], the ·leaders [officials], and the rest of the people: “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and ·powerful [awesome; glorious]. Fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
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Nehemiah 4:1-14
New American Standard Bible
Work Is Ridiculed
4 [a]Now it came about that when (A)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and (B)the [b]wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the (C)heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—(D)if a fox were to [c]jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”
4 (E)Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! (F)Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not [d](G)forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have [e]demoralized the builders.
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a [f]mind to work.
7 [g]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the [h]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went [i]on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 So all of them (H)conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
Discouragement Overcome
9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we (I)set up a guard against them day and night.
10 And so [j]in Judah it was said:
“The strength of the burden bearers is failing,
Yet there is much rubble;
And we ourselves are unable
To rebuild the wall.”
11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” 12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “[k]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” 13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I (J)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “(K)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and (L)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 4:1 Ch 3:33 in Heb
- Nehemiah 4:2 Or army
- Nehemiah 4:3 Lit go up
- Nehemiah 4:5 Lit cover
- Nehemiah 4:5 Lit offended against
- Nehemiah 4:6 Lit heart
- Nehemiah 4:7 Ch 4:1 in Heb
- Nehemiah 4:7 Lit healing
- Nehemiah 4:7 Lit up
- Nehemiah 4:10 Lit Judah said
- Nehemiah 4:12 As in LXX; MT omits they...up
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