< Nehemiah 4 >

1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the city wall, he was very angry. He was enraged/furious. He made fun of us Jews.
And it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was angry and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
2 While his colleagues and officials of the army troops who had come from Samaria were listening, he said, “What do these feeble/pathetic Jews [think they] are doing? Do they think that if they offer enough/many sacrifices, [their gods will hear them and enable] them to finish building the wall in one day? The stones [that were in the wall previously have been weakened by] being burned in a fire. Those stones that they are pulling out of the rubbish/garbage heaps—do they think that they can make them strong again?” [RHQ]
And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? shall they be permitted to go on? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, when they are burned?
3 Tobiah was [standing] beside Sanballat. He said, “That stone wall [that they are building] is very weak; so if even a fox climbed up on it, the wall would fall down!”
And Tobijah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox went up, it would break down their stone wall. —
4 Then I prayed. I said, “Our God, hear us, because they are ridiculing us! Cause the words of their insults to fall back on them! Allow their enemies to come and capture them and force them to go to a foreign land!
Hear, our God, for we are despised, and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in a land of captivity!
5 They are guilty; they have [said things that] caused you to be angry while the people here who are building the wall are listening; so punish them!”
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked the builders.
6 But after some time, we finished building the wall around the whole city, up to half as high as the first wall had been. We were able to do that because we worked very hard.
But we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to the half thereof; for the people had a mind to work.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the men from Arabia, the people from the Ammon [people-group] and from Ashdod [city] heard that the work on the wall was continuing and that we were filling in the gaps in the wall, they became very angry.
And it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobijah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being repaired, that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
8 They all planned to come and fight against the people of Jerusalem [MTY] and to cause trouble.
and conspired all of them together to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
9 But we prayed to our God [to protect us], and we put men [around the walls] to guard [the city] day and night.
Then we prayed to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10 Then the people of [MTY] Judah started to say, “The men who are working [on the wall] are becoming very tired. There is a lot of [heavy] rubble that we must remove; we ourselves cannot finish the work.
And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens faileth, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build at the wall.
11 “Besides, our enemies are saying, ‘Before the Jews see us, we will swoop down on them and kill them and stop their work [on the wall]!’”
And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them and kill them, and put an end to the work.
12 The Jews who were living near our enemies came and told us many times, “You should leave the city and go to other places, in order that your enemies will not attack you!”
And it came to pass that when the Jews that dwelt by them came and told us so ten times, from all the places whence they returned to us,
13 So I put guards at the places where the wall was not very high yet and at places where there were gaps in the wall. I put guards to protect each of their family groups. I gave the guards daggers, spears, and bows [and arrows].
I set in the lower places behind the wall in exposed places, I even set the people, according to their families, with their swords, their spears and their bows.
14 Then after I inspected everything, I summoned the leaders and [other] officials and [many of] the other people, and I said to them, “Do not be afraid of our enemies! Think about [what] Yahweh, who is great and glorious, [can do]! And fight to protect your friends, your families, and your homes!”
And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.
15 Our enemies heard that we knew what they were planning to do and that God had (spoiled their plans/prevented them from doing what they planned). [But we were sure that God would defend us, ] so we all started to work on the wall again.
And it came to pass that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had defeated their counsel, we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work.
16 But after that, only half of the men who were working for me worked on the wall. The others stood there on guard, holding their spears, shields, bows [and arrows], and [wearing their] coats made of metal plates. [To encourage the people] were building the wall, their leaders stood behind them.
And from that time forth the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the corslets; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.
17 Those who carried [baskets of supplies on their heads/shoulders] and those who built the wall did their work with one hand, and held a weapon with the other hand.
They that built on the wall, and they that bore burdens, with those that loaded, wrought in the work with one hand, and with the other they held a weapon.
18 All those who were building [the wall] had a dagger fastened to their side. The man who would blow the trumpet [if our enemies attacked] was standing at my side.
And the builders had every one his sword girded by his side, and built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
19 Then I said to the officials, the other important men, and the other people, “This wall is very long, and we are far apart from each other along the wall.
And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and extended, and we are scattered upon the wall, one far from another:
20 If you hear the man blowing the trumpet, gather around us at that place. [Remember that] our God will fight for us!”
in what place ye hear the sound of the trumpet, thither shall ye assemble to us; our God will fight for us.
21 So we continued to work. Half of the men continued to hold their spears all day, from when the sun rose [in the morning] until the stars appeared [at night].
And we laboured in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the dawn till the stars appeared.
22 At that time, I also said to the people, “Tell every worker and his helper that they must stay inside Jerusalem at night. By doing that, they can guard us at night, and they can work [on the wall] during the daytime.”
Likewise at the same time I said to the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and [be for] labour in the day.
23 During that time, none of us ever took off our clothes (OR, we wore our clothes all the time)—I and my relatives and my workers and the guards who were with me. And we had our weapons with us, in our hands.
And neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard that followed me, none of us put off our garments: every one had his weapon on his right side.

< Nehemiah 4 >