¹⁵ It happened when our enemies heard that their plan was known to us, that God had frustrated it, and we all returned to the wall—each to his work. ¹⁶ From that day, half of my servants were working on craftsmanship, half were holding spears, small shields, bows, and breastplates. The commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. ¹⁷ The ones who were building the wall and the ones who carried the materials^[a] were carrying in one hand while doing the task, and with the other hand were grasping a weapon. ¹⁸ Each of the builders had his sword tied to his side while building. And the man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹ I said to the nobles, to the prefects, and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widespread, and we are spread out over the wall far from each other. ²⁰ Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, come together to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we labored at the work, and half of them were holding the spears from dawn until the stars came out. ²² At the time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they will be a guard for us in the night and work in the day.” ²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my young men nor the men of the guard who were behind me took off our clothes. Each one kept his weapon even in the water.