Nehemiah 4:1-14
New English Translation
Opposition to the Work Continues
4 (3:33)[a] Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his colleagues[b] and the army of Samaria he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves?[c] Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”
3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Return their reproach on their own head. Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from your sight, for they have bitterly offended[d] the builders.[e]
6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.[f] The people were enthusiastic in their work.[g]
7 (4:1)[h] When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them conspired together to move with armed forces[i] against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it. 9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them[j] both day and night. 10 Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers[k] has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”
11 Our adversaries also boasted,[l] “Before they are aware or anticipate[m] anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
12 So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly[n] about all the schemes[o] they were plotting[p] against us.
13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places.[q] I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 When I had made an inspection,[r] I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord,[s] and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!”[t]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 4:1 sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:23 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:33 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:34 HT, 4:3 ET = 3:35 HT, 4:4 ET = 3:36 HT, 4:5 ET = 3:37 HT, 4:6 ET = 3:38 HT, 4:7 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 4:23 ET = 4:17 HT. Thus in the Hebrew Bible chap. 3 of the Book of Nehemiah has 38 verses, while chap. 4 has only 17 verses.
- Nehemiah 4:2 tn Heb “brothers.”
- Nehemiah 4:2 tc The present translation follows the MT, but the Hebrew text is difficult. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [WBC], 213-14) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that MT לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (leʾlohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of BHS. In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra—Nehemiah [OTL], 242-44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the MT reading may be the notion that the workers—if left to their own limited resources—could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (ʿazav, “to leave”) plus ל (lamed, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”
- Nehemiah 4:5 tn The Hiphil stem of כָּעַס (kaʿas) may mean: (1) “to provoke to anger”; (2) “to bitterly offend”; or (3) “to grieve” (BDB 495 s.v. Hiph.; HALOT 491 s.v. כעס hif). The Hebrew lexicons suggest that “bitterly offend” is the most appropriate nuance here.
- Nehemiah 4:5 tn Heb “before the builders.” The preposition נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) here connotes “in the sight of” or “in the view of” (BDB 617 s.v. 1.a; HALOT 666 s.v. 1.a).
- Nehemiah 4:6 tn Heb “up to its half.”
- Nehemiah 4:6 tn Heb “the people had a heart to work.”
- Nehemiah 4:7 sn Chapter 4 begins here in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 4:1.
- Nehemiah 4:8 tn Heb “to fight.”
- Nehemiah 4:9 tn Heb “against them.” The words “to protect” are added in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Some emend MT עֲלֵיהֶם (ʿalehem, “against them”) to עָלֶיהָ (ʿaleha, “against it,” i.e., Jerusalem).
- Nehemiah 4:10 tn Heb “burden-bearers.”
- Nehemiah 4:11 tn Heb “said.”
- Nehemiah 4:11 tn Heb “see.”
- Nehemiah 4:12 tn Heb “ten times.”
- Nehemiah 4:12 tc The MT reads the anomalous מִכָּל־הַמְּקֹמוֹת (mikkol hammeqomot, “from every place”) but the BHS editors propose כָּל־הַמְּזִמּוֹת (kol hammezimmot, “about every scheme”). The initial mem (מ) found in the MT may have been added accidentally due to dittography with the final mem (ם) on the immediately preceding word, and the MT qof (ק) may have arisen due to orthographic confusion with the similar looking zayin (ז). The emendation restores sense to the line in the MT, which makes little sense and features an abrupt change of referents: “Wherever you turn, they will be upon us!” The threat was not against the villagers living nearby but against those repairing the wall, as the following context indicates. See also the following note on the word “plotting.”
- Nehemiah 4:12 tc The MT reads תָּשׁוּבוּ (tashuvu, “you turn”) which is awkward contextually. The BHS editors propose emending to חָשְׁבוּ (hashevu, “they were plotting”) which harmonizes well with the context. This emendation involves mere orthographic confusion between similar looking ח (khet) and ת (tav), and the resultant dittography of middle ו (vav) in MT. See also the preceding note on the word “schemes.”
- Nehemiah 4:13 tc The MT preserves the anomalous Kethib form צְחִחִיִּים (tsekhikhiyyim); the Qere reads צְחִיחִים (tsekhikhim) which is preferred (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ).tn The meaning of the Hebrew term צְחִיחִים (tsekhikhim) here is uncertain. Elsewhere (Ezek 24:7, 8; 26:4, 14) it refers to a shining or glaring surface of a rock (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ), but here it refers to an exposed or vulnerable portion of the wall: “open positions of the wall” (HALOT 1018 s.v. 2).
- Nehemiah 4:14 tn Heb “And I saw.”
- Nehemiah 4:14 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Nehemiah 4:14 tn Heb “houses.”
Nehemiah 4:1-14
International Standard Version
Sanballat Opposes the Reconstruction
4 [a]When Sanballat heard that we were reconstructing the wall, he flew into a rage, became indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 He addressed his allies and the Samaritan officials,[b] saying “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Are they intending to rebuild it by themselves? Do they intend to offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a single day? Can they make stones from this burned out rubble?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite stood to the side, commenting, “If a fox were to jump onto what they’re building, it would collapse their stone wall!”
Nehemiah’s Prayer
4 “Listen, our God, because we are being mocked. Let their insults fall back on them,[c] and let them be dragged away as captives into exile. 5 Don’t atone their iniquity, and don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you, because they have demoralized the builders.”
6 So we rebuilt the wall, completing it halfway up, because the people were committed to working.
Sanballat Reacts to the Progress
7 [d]But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair work on the Jerusalem wall was progressing and that its breaches were being repaired, they flew into a rage. 8 So they all conspired together to invade and fight against Jerusalem, creating confusion there.
Nehemiah Reacts to Sanballat
9 But we prayed to our God. We also set up guards day and night because of them.
10 Meanwhile, the people of[e] Judah said, “The builders are tired and there’s so much rubble that we can’t reconstruct the wall!”
11 Our enemies said, “Before they notice or see us, we’ll penetrate their midst, kill them, and stop the work!”
12 The Jews who lived near them kept coming to us, reporting at least[f] ten times, “They’ll attack us from every direction.” 13 So I stationed the people by families behind the wall in the lower exposed areas, equipping them with their swords, spears, and bows.
14 Looking things over, I stood up and spoke to the officials, the military leaders, and the rest of the people: “Don’t fear them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 4:1 This v. is 3:33 in MT, and so through v. 6.
- Nehemiah 4:2 Or army
- Nehemiah 4:4 Lit. on their heads
- Nehemiah 4:7 This v. is 4:1 in MT, and so through v. 23.
- Nehemiah 4:10 The Heb. lacks the people of
- Nehemiah 4:12 The Heb. lacks at least
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