Nehemiah 4

1 But it happened that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

2 And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, which 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; and turn back their insults on their own head, give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity;

5 do not cover their iniquity, and do not 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 it happened that 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, then they were very angry;

8 and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion in it.

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

10 Judah said, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall."

11 Our adversaries said, "They shall not know, neither see, until we come into their midst, and kill them, and cause the work to cease."

12 It happened that 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 set I in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

14 I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

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

16 It happened from that time forth that half of my servants would do the work and half of them held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the body armor; and the rulers stood behind the whole house of Judah

17 who were building the wall. And those who carried loads held their load with one hand and with the other held a weapon;

18 and 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 large, and we are separated on the wall, one far from another.

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

21 So we worked in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

22 Likewise at the same time said I 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 followed me, none of us took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.