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Nehemiah

Nehemiah leads the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and reforms the community. ... click to read full summary of this book.

Chapter 4

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But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

But later, when Sanballat found out we were building a wall, he got angry and felt very upset. He made fun of the Jewish people.

And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

He spoke to his fellow Jews and the Samaria army, asking, "What are these weak Jews trying to do? Will they defend themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they rebuild stones from the burned rubbish piles?"

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said, If a fox climbs it, even the structure they built can be destroyed by the fox.

Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:

Listen, our God, because we are disgraced; and make them experience their mockery themselves, and hand them over as prey in the land of capture.

And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

Don't hide their wrongdoings, and don't erase their sins; they made you angry while building.

So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

So, we constructed the wall, and half of it was connected. The reason was that the people wanted to work together.

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

But eventually, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites learned that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt and the gaps were being filled in, they became very angry.

And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

They all agreed to attack and stop Jerusalem from growing.

Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

So, even though things were tough, we prayed to God and kept a constant lookout against them, day and night.

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Judah said, "The people carrying heavy loads are getting weak, and there's a lot of mess. We can't finish building the wall because of this."

And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.

Our enemies said, "They won't understand or see anything until we get right in the middle of them, defeat them, and stop their work."

And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.

One day, when the Jewish people living nearby arrived, they told us over and over again that wherever you go, trouble will follow you back to us.

Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

So, I placed people at different levels behind the wall, both high and low. They were grouped by their families, each armed with swords, spears, and bows.

And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

I looked around, stood up, and told the important people and everyone else not to be scared. I reminded them that God is powerful and huge, and urged them to defend their family members, including brothers and sisters, kids, wives, and homes.

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

When our enemies learned that we knew their plans and God thwarted them, we all went back to the wall and resumed our tasks.

And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

Starting from that time, half of my helpers worked on the task while the other half had weapons like spears, shields, bows, and body armor. The leaders were at the back supporting the people of Judah.

They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

Those who built the wall and carried heavy loads, along with those who loaded things, all used one hand to work on the wall and the other hand to hold a weapon.

For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

For the builders, everyone had a sword ready by their side while they worked. The person who blew the trumpet was next to me.

And I said unto the nobles, 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.

I told the important people and the others, "The job is big and takes up a lot of space, and we're spread out on the wall, far apart from each other."

In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

Wherever you hear the trumpet's sound, go there; we will join you: our God will fight for us.

So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

So, we worked hard on the task, and half of us held spears from sunrise to when the stars came out.

Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.

At the same time, I told the people, "Let each person with their servant stay in Jerusalem. This way, they can protect us at night and work during the day."

So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.

So, I, my friends, my helpers, and the guards with me didn't take off our clothes. We only took them off to wash ourselves.

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