Nehemiah 4
1 Now it came to pass, when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall, that it was grievous to him, and he was very angry, and railed against the Jews.
Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews.
2 And he said before his brethren (that [is] the army of the Samaritans) [Is it true] that these Jews are building their city? do they indeed offer sacrifices? will they prevail? and will they this day restore the stones, after they have been burnt and made a heap of rubbish?
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 And Tobias the Ammanite came near to him, and said to them, Do they sacrifice or eat in their place? shall not a fox go up and pull down their wall of stones?
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 Hear, O our God, for we have become a scorn; and return you their reproach upon their head, and make them a scorn in a land of captivity,
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 and do not cover [their] iniquity.
Let not their wrongdoing be covered or their sin washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.
So we went on building the wall; and all the wall was joined together half-way up: for the people were working hard.
7 But it came to pass, when Sanaballat and Tobia, and the Arabians, and the Ammanites, heard that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was advancing, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, that it appeared very grievous to them.
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 And all of them assembled together, to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to destroy it utterly.
And they made designs, all of them together, to come and make an attack on Jerusalem, causing trouble there.
9 So we prayed to our God and set watchmen against them day and night, because of them.
But we made our prayer to God, and had men on watch against them day and night because of them.
10 And Juda said, The strength of the enemies is broken, yet [there is] much rubbish, and we shall not be able to build the wall.
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 And they that afflicted us said, They shall not know, and they shall not see, until we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.
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 And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.
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 So I set [men] in the lowest part of the place behind the wall in the lurking-places, I even set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
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 And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the captains, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember our great and terrible God, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
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 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was made known to us, and God had frustrated their counsel, that we all returned to the wall, [every] man to his work.
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 And it came to pass from that day [that] half of them that had been driven forth, wrought the work, and half of them kept guard; and [there were] spears, and shields, and bows, and breastplates, and rulers behind the whole house of 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 even of them that were building the wall: —and those who carried the burdens [were] under arms: [each] with one hand wrought his work, and with the other held his dart.
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 And the builders [wrought] each man having his sword girded upon his loins, and so they built: and the trumpeter with his trumpet next to him.
Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn.
19 And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work [is] great and abundant, and we are dispersed upon the wall, each at a great distance from his brother.
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 whatever place you shall hear the sound of the cornet, there gather yourselves together to us; and our God shall fight for us.
Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us; our God will be fighting for us.
21 So we [continued] laboring at the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.
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 And at that time I said to the people, Lodge you every man with his servant in the midst of Jerusalem, and let the night be a watch-time to you, and the day a work-time.
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 And I was [there], and the watchmen behind me, and there was not a man of us that put off his garments.
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.
