Nehemiah 4:1-14
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.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 4:1-14
New American Standard Bible 1995
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 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 finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the [c](C)dusty 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 should [d]jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”
4 (E)Hear, O our God, how 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]demoralized the builders.
6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a [g]mind to work.
7 [h]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the [i]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them (H)conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance 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 Thus [j]in Judah it was said,
“The strength of the burden bearers is failing,
Yet there is much [k]rubbish;
And we ourselves are unable
To rebuild the wall.”
11 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, “[l]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 [m]exposed places, and I (J)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows. 14 When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke 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 4:2 Lit heaps of dust
- 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 4:10 Lit Judah said
- Nehemiah 4:10 Lit dust
- Nehemiah 4:12 So Gr; Heb omits they...up
- Nehemiah 4:13 Lit bare
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