Beginning
Opposition and Threats to the Building[a]
4 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, it infuriated him, and he became very angry. He ridiculed the Jews 2 and said in front of his allies[b] and the army of Samaria, “What are those pathetic Jews doing? Will they restore[c] it by themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in one day? Will they refurbish the stones that came from the piles of rubble that have been burned?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him. He said, “Whatever they are building, if even a fox climbed on it, it would break apart the wall made from their stones.”
4 Listen, O our God, because we are an object of contempt. Turn their ridicule back on their own heads. Hand them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover over their guilt, and may their sin not be blotted out before you, because they have provoked your anger in the presence of the builders.[d]
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was completed, up to half its height, because the people were determined to do it.
7 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the repair of Jerusalem’s walls had progressed and the breaches had begun to be filled, they were infuriated. 8 So all of them conspired to come to attack Jerusalem and to throw it into confusion. 9 However, we prayed to our God, and because of the enemies, we posted a guard over the builders day and night.
10 Then the people of Judah said, “The strength of those bearing the burden is failing. There is so much rubble. We will not be able to build the wall!”
11 Then our adversaries said, “They will not know about it or realize what we are doing, until we come among them and kill them and bring the work to a halt.”
12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they repeatedly told us, “No matter which way you turn, they will be upon us.”[e] 13 So I stationed people behind the wall at the lowest places, at its open spots. I stationed the people by clans with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then I looked and got up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and fearsome. So fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that their plan was known to us and that God had frustrated their strategy, all of us returned to the wall, each man to his own work. 16 From that day on, half of the young men who were serving under me were doing the work, and half of them were holding shields, spears, and bows and wearing armor. The officers were stationed behind the whole house of Judah. 17 The people who were building the wall and those who were carrying the materials for building were doing their work with one hand, while the other hand held a weapon. 18 As they built, the builders were armed, each man with his sword on his hip. The man who sounded the ram’s horn was next to me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “There is a lot of work, and it is spread out, and we are separated along the wall—all the people are far away from each other. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, gather with us at that spot. Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we continued to work with half of the people holding spears, from the crack of dawn until the stars came out. 22 Also at that time I said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night in Jerusalem. They will serve as a guard for us at night, and in the daytime they will work.”
23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who were behind me—none of us took off our clothes. Each man had his weapon in his hand, even when getting a drink of water.[f]
The Work Is Threatened by Internal Dissension
5 Now there was a great outcry by the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. 2 There were those who were saying, “We and our sons and our daughters are many! We need to acquire grain so that we can eat and stay alive.” 3 There were others who were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and houses so that we can acquire grain during the famine.” 4 There were others who were saying, “We borrowed money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children are as good as their children, we must subject our sons and our daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we have no power to prevent it, since our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
6 It infuriated me when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 My heart guided me, and I accused the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “Each of you is loaning money at interest to his brother Israelite.”
I called for a large meeting to deal with them. 8 I said to them, “As much as possible, we have bought back our fellow Judeans who have been sold to the Gentiles, and yet, you sell your countrymen so that they can be resold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.
9 So I said, “What you are doing is not good. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God because of the ridicule from the Gentiles, who are our enemies? 10 In addition, I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. I urge you. Let’s abandon the practice of charging this interest. 11 I urge you. Today give them back their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, their homes, and the money they were charged as interest, also the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil for which you have been charging them.”
12 They said, “We will give it back, and we will not seek anything else from them. In this way we will do what you say.”
So I called the priests and made them swear to act according to this promise. 13 I also shook out the folds of my garment and said, “In this way may God shake out from his home and from his property every man who does not keep this promise. May he be shaken out and emptied in this way.”
The entire assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. Then the people kept this promise.
14 In addition, from the day that he appointed me to be the governor of the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes—twelve years—I and my brothers did not eat the governor’s food allowance.
15 However, the previous governors who served before me had placed a heavy burden on the people. They took food and wine from them—valued at forty silver shekels.[g] Even the lower officials lorded over the people. But because of the fear of God, I did not do this. 16 In addition, I dedicated myself to the work on this wall (although we had acquired no land), and all of my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, at my table there were one hundred fifty Judeans and officials, and others who came to us from the nations around us. 18 Whatever was prepared for each day was at my expense: one ox, six choice sheep, and some birds, and every ten days plenty of every kind of wine. But even with this, I still did not requisition the governor’s food allowance, because the required service weighed heavily on this people.
19 Remember me, my God, for good, considering all that I have done for this people.
The Plot to Kill Nehemiah
6 When it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and there was no breach left in it (although at that time I had not installed doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me: “Come, let’s meet together in Kephirim[h] in the Plain of Ono.” (However, they were planning to harm me.)
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am working on an important project, and I am not able to come down. Why should the project stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 They sent messages like this to me four times, and I answered them that same way each time.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me with a message like this for a fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is rumored among the nations, and Gashmu[i] also says that you and the Jews are planning to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you will be their king. 7 You have also set up prophets to make a proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘A king is in Judah.’ Now reports like these will be heard by the king. So now come, let us consult with one another.”
8 So I sent a reply to him: “These things that you are saying have not been done, since you are simply making them up.”
9 So all of them were trying to intimidate us, thinking, “Their hands will grow weary of the work, and it will not be finished.”
So now, strengthen my hands!
10 Then I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. (He was restricted.) He said, “Let’s meet at the house of God in the middle of the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, since they are coming to kill you—at night they are coming to kill you.”
11 I said, “Should a man like me flee? Should someone like me go to the temple to save my life? I won’t go!” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but he had spoken the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired—to make me afraid so that I would do this and sin. Then they would have given me a bad reputation, so that they could discredit me.
14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who were trying to intimidate me.[j]
The Wall Is Completed Despite Opposition
15 So the wall was finished in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth of Elul. 16 As all our enemies heard about it, all the nations that were around us became afraid and lost their confidence. They knew that this work had been accomplished by our God.
17 Furthermore, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and letters from Tobiah were coming to them, 18 because many in Judah were bound to him by oath because he was the son-in-law of Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 They were also talking about his good deeds in my presence, and they were reporting my words to him. Tobiah was sending letters to try to intimidate me.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.