NehemiahChapter 4

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¹Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall. He became very angry and upset. He made fun of the Jews ²in front of his friends and the army of Samaria. He said, "What are these weak Jews doing? Can they fix the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish it in a day? Can they bring these burned stones back to life from the piles of rubble?" ³Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him. He said, "Even if a fox climbed up on what they are building, it would break down their stone wall!" ⁴Hear us, O God, for people hate us. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Let them be carried off as loot to a land where they are captives. ⁵Do not cover up their wrongs. Do not wipe their sin away from your sight. For they have insulted the builders.a ⁶So we rebuilt the wall. All of it was joined together up to half its height. For the people had a heart to work. ⁷Sanballat and Tobiah heard that the work on the walls of Jerusalem was going forward. So did the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod. They heard that the gaps were being closed. And they were very angry. ⁸All of them made a secret plan to come and fight against Jerusalem and cause trouble. ⁹So we prayed to our God. We set a guard to watch for them day and night. ¹⁰Meanwhile, the people of Judah said, "The workers are running out of strength. There is so much rubble. We will never be able to rebuild the wall." ¹¹And our enemies said, "They won't know or see a thing until we are right among them. We will kill them and stop the work." ¹²At that time the Jews who lived nearby came and told us ten times, "From every side, they will attack us." ¹³So I placed men behind the lowest parts of the wall, where it was weak. I placed them by families. They had their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴I looked things over. Then I stood up and spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people. I said, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome. Fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes." ¹⁵Our enemies heard that we knew about their plan. They heard that God had ruined it. Then each of us went back to his own work on the wall. ¹⁶From that day on, half of my servants did the work. The other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stood behind all the people of Judah ¹⁷who were rebuilding the wall. The workers who carried loads worked with one hand. They held a weapon in the other. ¹⁸Each of the builders worked with his sword tied at his side. But the man who blew the trumpet stayed beside me. ¹⁹Then I spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people. I said, "The work is big and spread out. We are far apart from each other along the wall. ²⁰Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, come to us there. Our God will fight for us!" ²¹So we kept on working. Half of the men held spears from the first light of dawn until the stars came out. ²²At that time I also told the people, "Every man and his servant must spend the night in Jerusalem. Then they can stand guard at night and work during the day." ²³So none of us took off our clothes. Not I, not my brothers, not my servants, and not the guards with me. Each of us carried his weapon, even when he went for water.