Nehemiæ 4
1 Factum est autem, cum audisset Sanaballat quod ædificaremus murum, iratus est valde: et motus nimis subsannavit Judæos,
Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews.
2 et dixit coram fratribus suis, et frequentia Samaritanorum: Quid Judæi faciunt imbecilles? num dimittent eos gentes? num sacrificabunt, et complebunt in una die? numquid ædificare poterunt lapides de acervis pulveris, qui combusti sunt?
And in the hearing of his countrymen and the army of Samaria he said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they make themselves strong? will they make offerings? will they get the work done in a day? will they make the stones which have been burned come again out of the dust?
3 Sed et Tobias Ammanites, proximus ejus, ait: Ædificent: si ascenderit vulpes, transiliet murum eorum lapideum.
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Such is their building that if a fox goes up it, their stone wall will be broken down.
4 Audi, Deus noster, quia facti sumus despectui: converte opprobrium super caput eorum, et da eos in despectionem in terra captivitatis.
Give ear, O our God, for we are looked down on: let their words of shame be turned back on themselves, and let them be given up to wasting in a land where they are prisoners:
5 Ne operias iniquitatem eorum, et peccatum eorum coram facie tua non deleatur, quia irriserunt ædificantes.
Let not their wrongdoing be covered or their sin washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.
6 Itaque ædificavimus murum, et conjunximus totum usque ad partem dimidiam: et provocatum est cor populi ad operandum.
So we went on building the wall; and all the wall was joined together half-way up: for the people were working hard.
7 Factum est autem, cum audisset Sanaballat, et Tobias, et Arabes, et Ammanitæ, et Azotii, quod obducta esset cicatrix muri Jerusalem, et quod cœpissent interrupta concludi, irati sunt nimis.
But when it came to the ears of Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the broken places were being made good, they were full of wrath;
8 Et congregati sunt omnes pariter ut venirent, et pugnarent contra Jerusalem, et molirentur insidias.
And they made designs, all of them together, to come and make an attack on Jerusalem, causing trouble there.
9 Et oravimus Deum nostrum, et posuimus custodes super murum die ac nocte contra eos.
But we made our prayer to God, and had men on watch against them day and night because of them.
10 Dixit autem Judas: Debilitata est fortitudo portantis, et humus nimia est, et nos non poterimus ædificare murum.
And Judah said, The strength of the workmen is giving way, and there is much waste material; it is impossible for us to put up the wall.
11 Et dixerunt hostes nostri: Nesciant, et ignorent donec veniamus in medium eorum, et interficiamus eos, et cessare faciamus opus.
And those who were against us said, Without their knowledge and without their seeing us, we will come among them and put them to death, causing the work to come to a stop.
12 Factum est autem venientibus Judæis qui habitabant juxta eos, et dicentibus nobis per decem vices, ex omnibus locis quibus venerant ad nos,
And it came about that when the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times, From all directions they are coming against us.
13 statui in loco post murum per circuitum populum in ordinem cum gladiis suis, et lanceis, et arcubus.
So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 Et perspexi atque surrexi: et aio ad optimates et magistratus, et ad reliquam partem vulgi: Nolite timere a facie eorum: Domini magni et terribilis mementote, et pugnate pro fratribus vestris, filiis vestris, et filiabus vestris, et uxoribus vestris, et domibus vestris.
And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses.
15 Factum est autem, cum audissent inimici nostri nuntiatum esse nobis, dissipavit Deus consilium eorum. Et reversi sumus omnes ad muros, unusquisque ad opus suum.
And when it came to the ears of those who were against us, that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work
16 Et factum est a die illa, media pars juvenum eorum faciebat opus, et media parata erat ad bellum: et lanceæ, et scuta, et arcus, et loricæ, et principes post eos in omni domo Juda.
And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah.
17 Ædificantium in muro, et portantium onera, et imponentium: una manu sua faciebat opus, et altera tenebat gladium:
Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other;
18 ædificentium enim unusquisque gladio erat accinctus renes. Et ædificabant, et clangebant buccina juxta me.
Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn.
19 Et dixi ad optimates, et ad magistratus, et ad reliquam partem vulgi: Opus grande est et latum, et nos separati sumus in muro procul alter ab altero:
And I said to the great ones and the chiefs and the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spaced and we are far away from one another on the wall:
20 in loco quocumque audieritis clangorem tubæ, illuc concurrite ad nos: Deus noster pugnabit pro nobis.
Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us; our God will be fighting for us.
21 Et nos ipsi faciamus opus, et media pars nostrum teneat lanceas ab ascensu auroræ donec egrediantur astra.
So we went on with the work: and half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen.
22 In tempore quoque illo dixi populo: Unusquisque cum puero suo maneat in medio Jerusalem, et sint nobis vices per noctem et diem ad operandum.
And at the same time I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant come inside Jerusalem for the night, so that at night they may keep watch for us, and go on working by day.
23 Ego autem et fratres mei, et pueri mei, et custodes, qui erant post me, non deponebamus vestimenta nostra: unusquisque tantum nudabatur ad baptismum.
So not one of us, I or my brothers or my servants or the watchmen who were with me, took off his clothing, everyone went armed to the water.
