Nehemiah 4

1 And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard that we are building the wall, that it is displeasing to him, and he is very angry and mocketh at 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 saith before his brethren and the force of Samaria, yea, he saith, '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 burnt!'

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 Tobiah the Ammonite [is] by him and saith, 'Also, that which they are building — if a fox doth go up, then it hath broken down their stone wall.'

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 been despised; and turn back their reproach on their own head, and give them for a spoil 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 over their iniquity, and their sin from before Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger — over-against those building.

Don't forgive their guilt or blot out their sins, for they have made you angry in front of the builders.”

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

So we rebuilt the wall until it was all connected, reaching half its height, because the people were keen to work.

7 And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that lengthening hath gone up to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breeches have begun to be stopped, then it is very displeasing 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 they conspire, all of them together, to come in to fight against Jerusalem, and to do to it injury.

They all plotted together to come and attack Jerusalem and to throw everything into confusion.

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

So we prayed to our God, and we had guards ready to defend against them day and night.

10 And Judah saith, 'The power of the burden-bearers hath become feeble, and the rubbish [is] abundant, and we are not able to build on 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 our adversaries say, 'They do not know, nor see, till that we come in to their midst, and have slain them, and caused 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 cometh to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places whither ye return — [they are] against us.

The Jews who lived close by came and told us over and over again, “They're going to attack us from all directions!”

13 And I appoint at the lowest of the places, at the back of the wall, in the clear places, yea, I appoint the people, by 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 see, and rise up, and say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, 'Be not afraid of them; the Lord, the great and the fearful, remember ye, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and 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 cometh to pass, when our enemies have heard that it hath been known to us, and God doth frustrate their counsel, and we turn back, all of us, unto the wall, each unto 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 yea, it cometh 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 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 The builders on the wall, and the bearers of the burden, those lading, [each] with one of his hands is working in the business, and one is laying hold of the missile.

who were building the wall. Those carrying materials worked with one hand, holding a weapon in the other.

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

All the builders carried a sword strapped to their side, and the trumpeter stood beside me.

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

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 the place that ye hear the voice of the trumpet thither ye are gathered unto us; our God doth 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 And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.

We went on working, with half of the men holding spears from dawn until the stars came out.

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

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

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.