Nehemiah 4

1 And it comes to pass, when Sanballat has heard that we are building the wall, that it is displeasing to him, and he is very angry and mocks at the Jews,

But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

2 and says before his brothers and the force of Samaria, indeed, he says, “What [are] the weak Jews doing? Are they left to themselves? Do they sacrifice? Do they complete in a day? Do they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish—and they are burned?”

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 And Tobiah the Ammonite [is] by him and says, “Also, that which they are building—if a fox goes up, then it has broken down their stone wall.”

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, O our God, for we have been despised; and return their reproach on their own head, and give them for a spoil in a land of captivity;

“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 and do not cover over their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You, for they have provoked [You] to anger in front of those building.

Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”

6 And we build the wall, and all the wall is joined—to its half, and the people have a heart to work.

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 And it comes to pass, when Sanballat has heard, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that lengthening has gone up to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breeches have begun to be stopped, then it is very displeasing to them,

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 conspire, all of them together, to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to do to it injury.

and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion among us.

9 And we pray to our God, and appoint a watch against them, by day and by night, because of them.

But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them.

10 And Judah says, “The power of the burden-bearers has become feeble, and the rubbish [is] abundant, and we are not able to build on the wall.”

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 And our adversaries say, “They do not know, nor see, until we come into their midst, and have slain them, and caused the work to cease.”

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 And it comes to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places to where you return—[they are] against us.

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 And I appoint at the lowest of the places, at the back of the wall, in the clear places, indeed, I appoint the people, by their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

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 with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

14 And I see, and rise up, and say to the nobles, and to the prefects, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord, the great and the fearful, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

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 And it comes to pass, when our enemies have heard that it has been known to us, and God frustrates their counsel, and we return, all of us, to the wall, each to his work;

When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

16 indeed, it comes to pass, from that day, half of my servants are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the heads [are] behind all the house of Judah.

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 The builders on the wall, and the bearers of the burden, those loading, [each] with one of his hands is working in the business, and one is laying hold of the missile.

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 And the builders [are] each with his sword, girded on his loins, and building, and he who is blowing with a horn [is] beside me.

Among the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me.

19 And I say to the nobles, and to the prefects, and to the rest of the people, “The work is abundant, and large, and we are separated on the wall, far off from one another;

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 in the place that you hear the voice of the horn there you are gathered to us; our God fights for us.”

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally there to us. Our God will fight for us.”

21 And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn until the coming forth of the stars.

So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

22 Also, at that time I said to the people, “Let each lodge with his servant in the midst of Jerusalem, and they have been a watch for us by night, and [for] the work by day”:

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 and there are none—I, and my brothers, and my servants, the men of the watch who [are] after me—there are none of us putting off our garments, each [has] his vessel of water.

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.