The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Nehemiah 04
1 But when Sanballat heard that we were
building the wall, he was angry, and was
very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
2 He spoke before his brothers and the
army of Samaria, and said, “What are
these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they
finish in a day? Will they revive the stones
out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are
burned?”
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him,
and he said, “What they are building, if a
fox climbed up it, he would break down
their stone wall.”
4 “Hear, our God, for we are despised.
Turn back their reproach on their own
head. Give them up for a plunder in a land
of captivity.
5 Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let
their sin be blotted out from before you;
for they have insulted the builders.”
6 So we built the wall; and all the wall
was joined together to half its height, for
the people had a mind to work.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites
heard that the repairing of the walls of
Jerusalem went forward, and that the
breaches began to be filled, they were very
angry;
8 and they all conspired together to come
and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause
confusion among us.
9 But we made our prayer to our God,
and set a watch againstthem day and night
because of them.
10 Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading and there is much
rubble, so that we are not able to build the
wall.”
11 Our adversaries said, “They will not
know or see, until we come in among
them and kill them, and cause the work to
cease.”
12 When the Jews who lived by them
came, they said to us ten times from all
places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
13 Therefore I set guards in the lowest
parts of the space behind the wall, in the
open places. I set the people by family
groups withtheir swords,their spears, and
their bows.
14 I looked, and rose up, and said to
the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest
of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them!
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your
sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
15 When our enemies heard that it was
known to us, and God had brought their
counselto nothing, all of us returned to the
wall, everyone to his work.
16 From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held
the spears, the shields, the bows, and the
coats of mail; and the rulers were behind
all the house of Judah.
17 Those who built the wall, and those
who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work,
and with the other held his weapon.
18 Among the builders, everyone wore
his sword at his side, and so built. He who
sounded the trumpet was by me.
19 I said to the nobles, and to the rulers
and to the rest of the people, “The work
is great and widely spread out, and we
are separated on the wall, far from one
another.
20 Wherever you hear the sound of the
trumpet, rally there to us. Our God will
fight for us.”
21 So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the
morning until the stars appeared.
22 Likewise at the same time I said to
the people, “Let everyone with his servant
lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night
they may be a guard to us, and may labor
in the day.”
23 So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my
servants, nor the men of the guard who
followedme took off our clothes. Everyone
took his weapon to the water.