Nehemiah 4
1 Now it came to pass, when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall, that it was grievous to him, and he was very angry, and railed against the Jews.
When Sanballat found out that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious—really mad! He made fun of the Jews
2 And he said before his brethren (that [is] the army of the Samaritans) [Is it true] that these Jews are building their city? do they indeed offer sacrifices? will they prevail? and will they this day restore the stones, after they have been burnt and made a heap of rubbish?
in front of his colleagues and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these useless Jews trying to achieve? Do they think they can rebuild the wall? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Are they going to finish it in a day? Do they think they can re-use stones from piles of rubble and dirt, especially since they've all been burned?”
3 And Tobias the Ammanite came near to him, and said to them, Do they sacrifice or eat in their place? shall not a fox go up and pull down their wall of stones?
Tobiah the Ammonite, standing beside him, commented, “Even a fox walking on what they're building would knock down their wall of stones!”
4 Hear, O our God, for we have become a scorn; and return you their reproach upon their head, and make them a scorn in a land of captivity,
I prayed, “Lord, please listen to us, because we are being treated with contempt. Rain down their insults on their own heads! Let them be taken away like plunder, prisoners in a foreign land!
5 and do not cover [their] iniquity.
Don't forgive their guilt or blot out their sins, for they have made you angry in front of the builders.”
So we rebuilt the wall until it was all connected, reaching half its height, because the people were keen to work.
7 But it came to pass, when Sanaballat and Tobia, and the Arabians, and the Ammanites, heard that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was advancing, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, that it appeared very grievous to them.
When Sanballat and Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being filled in, they were furious.
8 And all of them assembled together, to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to destroy it utterly.
They all plotted together to come and attack Jerusalem and to throw everything into confusion.
9 So we prayed to our God and set watchmen against them day and night, because of them.
So we prayed to our God, and we had guards ready to defend against them day and night.
10 And Juda said, The strength of the enemies is broken, yet [there is] much rubbish, and we shall not be able to build the wall.
Then people of Judah started grumbling, saying, “The workmen are exhausted. There's just too much rubble to clear. We'll never be able to finish the wall.”
11 And they that afflicted us said, They shall not know, and they shall not see, until we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.
Our enemies were saying to themselves, “Before they know it, before they're aware of anything, we'll appear right in among them, kill them, and put a stop to what they're doing.”
12 And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.
The Jews who lived close by came and told us over and over again, “They're going to attack us from all directions!”
13 So I set [men] in the lowest part of the place behind the wall in the lurking-places, I even set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
So I positioned defenders behind the lowest, most vulnerable sections, of the wall. I had them take their positions by families, armed with their swords, spears, and bows.
14 And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the captains, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember our great and terrible God, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
After inspecting our defenses, I stood up and addressed the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, saying, “Don't be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is powerful and formidable! Fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes!”
15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was made known to us, and God had frustrated their counsel, that we all returned to the wall, [every] man to his work.
When our enemies discovered that we knew about their plan, and that God had foiled it, we all went back to our work on the wall.
16 And it came to pass from that day [that] half of them that had been driven forth, wrought the work, and half of them kept guard; and [there were] spears, and shields, and bows, and breastplates, and rulers behind the whole house of Juda,
From then on, half of my men were doing the work while the other half were ready to fight, holding their spears, shields, bows, and armor. The leaders stood behind all the people of Judah
17 even of them that were building the wall: —and those who carried the burdens [were] under arms: [each] with one hand wrought his work, and with the other held his dart.
who were building the wall. Those carrying materials worked with one hand, holding a weapon in the other.
18 And the builders [wrought] each man having his sword girded upon his loins, and so they built: and the trumpeter with his trumpet next to him.
All the builders carried a sword strapped to their side, and the trumpeter stood beside me.
19 And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work [is] great and abundant, and we are dispersed upon the wall, each at a great distance from his brother.
Then I told the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “We have a lot to do everywhere, so we're very spread out along the wall.
20 In whatever place you shall hear the sound of the cornet, there gather yourselves together to us; and our God shall fight for us.
Wherever you are and you hear the sound of the trumpet, run to join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we [continued] laboring at the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.
We went on working, with half of the men holding spears from dawn until the stars came out.
22 And at that time I said to the people, Lodge you every man with his servant in the midst of Jerusalem, and let the night be a watch-time to you, and the day a work-time.
I also told the people, “Everyone including servants must spend the night inside Jerusalem, so they can be on guard duty at night and work during the day.”
23 And I was [there], and the watchmen behind me, and there was not a man of us that put off his garments.
During that time none of us changed our clothes—not me or my brothers or my men or the guards with me. Everyone carried their weapons at all times, even to go for water.
