Neḥemyah (Nehemiah) 4
4
1And it came to be, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was wroth and highly offended, and mocked the Yehuḏim.
2And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Shomeron, and said, “What are these feeble Yehuḏim doing? Are they going to restore, slaughter, complete it in a day? Are they going to bring to life the stones from the heaps of rubbish which are burned?”
3And Toḇiyah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if a fox should climb on it, he shall break down their stone wall.”
4“Hear, O our Elohim, for we have become despised. And turn back their reproach on their own heads, and give them as a prey in a land of captivity!
5“And do not cover over their crookedness, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You, for they have provoked You before the builders.”
6So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to the half of it, for the people had a heart to work.
7And it came to be, when Sanballat and Toḇiyah, and the Araḇs, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdoḏites heard that the walls of Yerushalayim were being repaired and the broken places began to be filled, that they became very wroth,
8and all of them conspired together to come to fight against Yerushalayim and to do harm to it.
9But we prayed to our Elohim, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10And Yehuḏah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is weakening, and there is so much rubbish that we are unable to build the wall.”
11And our adversaries said, “Let them not know or see it until we come into their midst and shall kill them, and cause the work to cease.”
12And it came to be, when the Yehuḏim who dwelt near them came, that they said to us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they are against us.”
13So I set men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings – I set the people according to their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14And I looked, and rose up and said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome, יהוה, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
15And it came to be, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that Elohim had brought their counsel to naught, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
16And it came to be, from that time on, that half of my servants were working in the work, while the other half were holding the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the breastplates. And the rulers were behind all the house of Yehuḏah,
17who were building on the wall, and those bearing burdens, those loading, working with one hand in the work, and with the other holding a weapon.
18As for the builders, each one had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded with the shophar was beside me.
19And I said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
20“In whatever place you hear the voice of the shophar, join us there. Our Elohim fights for us.”
21So we laboured in the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of day until the stars appeared.
22At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant spend the night in Yerushalayim, and they shall be our guard by night, and for the work by day.”
23So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our garments, each one his weapon even at the water.
Currently Selected:
Neḥemyah (Nehemiah) 4: TS2009
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Nehemiah 4
4
Nehemiah’s Enemies Oppose the Rebuilding
1Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall. So he became very angry and upset. He made fun of the Jews. 2He spoke to his friends and the army of Samaria. He said, “What are those Jews trying to do? Can they make their city wall like new again? Will they offer sacrifices? Can they finish everything in a single day? The stones from their city wall and buildings are piled up like trash. And everything has been badly burned. Can they use those stones to rebuild everything again?”
3Tobiah from Ammon was at Sanballat’s side. He said, “What are they building? They’re putting up a stone wall. But suppose a fox climbs on top of it. Even that will break it down!”
4I prayed to God. I said, “Our God, please listen to our prayer. Some people hate us. They’re saying bad things about us. So let others say bad things about them. Let them be carried off like stolen goods. Let them be taken to another country as prisoners. 5Don’t hide your eyes from their guilt. Don’t forgive their sins. They have said bad things about the builders.”
6So we rebuilt the wall. We repaired it until all of it was half as high as we wanted it to be. The people worked with all their heart.
7But Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls continued to be repaired. The Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard about it too. They heard that the gaps in the wall were being filled in. So they were very angry. 8All of them made evil plans to come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stir up trouble against it. 9But we prayed to our God. We put guards on duty day and night to watch out for danger.
10During that time, the people in Judah spoke up. They said, “The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. Broken stones are piled up everywhere. They are in our way. So we can’t rebuild the wall.”
11And our enemies said, “We will be right there among them. We’ll kill them. We’ll put an end to their work. We’ll do it before they even know it or see us.”
12Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. They told us ten times, “No matter where you are, they’ll attack us.”
13So I stationed some people behind the lowest parts of the wall. That’s where our enemies could easily attack us. I stationed the people family by family. They had their swords, spears and bows with them. 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 your enemies. Remember the Lord. He is great and powerful. So fight for your families. Fight for your sons and daughters. Fight for your wives and homes.”
15Our enemies heard that we knew what they were trying to do. They heard that God had blocked their evil plans. So all of us returned to the wall. Each of us did our own work.
16From that day on, half of my men did the work. The other half were given spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah. 17The people continued to build the wall. The people who carried supplies did their work with one hand. They held a weapon in the other hand. 18Each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who blew the trumpet stayed with me.
19Then I spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. I said, “This is a big job. It covers a lot of territory. We’re separated too far from one another along the wall. 20When you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us at that location. Our God will fight for us!”
21So we continued the work. Half of the men held spears. We worked from the first light of sunrise until the stars came out at night. 22At that time I also spoke to the people. I told them, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night. Then they can guard us at night. And they can work during the day.” 23My relatives and I didn’t take off our clothes. My men and the guards didn’t take theirs off either. Each man kept his weapon with him, even when he went to get water.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.