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
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.”
11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”
12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!”[e] 13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.
14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
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