Nehemiah 4

Revised Geneva Translation

4 But when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was angry and very grieved and mocked the Jews

² and spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these weak Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they make the stones whole again out of the heaps of dust, seeing they are burnt?”

³ And Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and said, “Although they build, even if a fox goes up on it, yet he shall break down their stony wall!”

⁴ Hear, O our God, for we are despised! And turn their shame upon their own heads and give them to a prey in the land of their captivity.

⁵ And do not cover their iniquity or let their sin be put out in Your presence. For they have provoked us before the builders.

⁶ So, we built the wall. And the whole wall was joined to its half. And the heart of the people was to work.

⁷ But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonite, and the Ashdodims heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been repaired (for the breaches began to be stopped), then they were very angry

⁸ and conspired together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder them.

⁹ Then we prayed to our God. And because of them we set watchmen against them, day and night.

¹⁰ And Judah said, “The strength of the bearers has weakened. And there is much earth, so that we are not able to build the wall.”

¹¹ Also, our adversaries had said, “They shall neither know nor see until we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”

¹² But when the Jews who dwelt beside them came, they told us ten times, “From all places where you shall return, they will be upon us.”

¹³ Therefore I stationed men in the lower places, behind the wall, upon the tops of the stones, and placed the people by their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

¹⁴ Then I beheld, and rose up, and said to the princes and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them! Remember the great and fearful LORD! And fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses!”

¹⁵ And when our enemies heard that it was known to us, then God brought their plans to nothing. And we all turned to the wall again, each one to his work.

¹⁶ And from that day, half of the young men did the labor, and the other half of them held the spears, and shields, and bows, and armor. And the rulers stood behind the whole House of Judah,

¹⁷ those who built on the wall and those who bore burdens. Those who loaded did the work with one hand and held the sword with the other.

¹⁸ For every one of the builders had his sword girded on his loins and built. And he who blew the trumpet was beside me.

¹⁹ Then I said to the princes and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large! And we are separated upon the wall, one far from another!

²⁰ “In whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, return from there to us! Our God shall fight for us!”

²¹ So we labored in the work. And half of them held the spears, from the appearance of the morning until the stars came forth.

²² And at the same time, I said to the people, “Let everyone lodge with his servant within Jerusalem, so that they may be a watch for us in the night and labor in the day.”

²³ So, neither I nor my brethren nor my servants nor the men of the ward who followed me (none of us) took off our clothes, except when everyone took them off for washing.