The Book of Nehemiah

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- Chapter 4 -

The wall is defended against enemies

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the city wall, the fact that they were rebuilding Jerusalem burned like a fire within him, and he was furious and he spoke of the Jews with disgust.

While his counselors and officials of the army troops who had come from Samaria were listening he said, “These Jews can hardly stand on their own legs, what do they think they are doing? Will they rebuild the city and live in it themselves? Will they restore the temple and the all the sacrifices that the priests gave to Yahweh? Will they finish such a great work in only a day? Will they turn these burned and useless rocks into useful material to rebuild the wall and will they bring life to the city again?

Tobiah was standing beside Sanballat. He said, “That wall they are building is so weak that even if a little fox climbed up on it, their stone wall would fall to the ground!”

Then I prayed. I said, “Our God, hear us, because they are ridiculing us! Cause the words of their insults to fall back on themselves! Allow their enemies to come and capture them and force them to go to a foreign land!

They are guilty. Do not take away their guilt and let them answer for the sin they committed before you. With their insults, they are making those who are rebuilding the walls become very angry!”

But after some time, the workers built the wall around the whole city to about half its total height. They were able to accomplish this because they wanted to do the best work they could do.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the work on the wall was continuing and that we were filling in the gaps in the wall, they became very angry.

They all made a plan together to come and fight against the people of Jerusalem, and to cause confusion within it.

But we prayed to our God to protect us, and we put men around the walls to guard the city day and night because of these who were so angry with us for rebuilding the wall.

Then the people of Judah started to say, “The men who are working on the wall have used up all their strength. There is too much heavy rubble that we must move away; we are not able to finish this work. It is too much for us.

Besides, our enemies are saying, ‘Before the Jews see us, we will rush down on them and kill them and stop their work on the wall!’”

The Jews who were living near our enemies came and told us many times, to warn us about the wicked plans our enemies were planning to carry out against us.

So I put people from each of the families to stand guard at the wall. They were put at the lowest points of the wall, at the places where the wall would be most easily crossed over. They would protect it with their swords, their spears, and their bows and arrows.

Then after I inspected everything, I summoned the leaders and other officials and many of the other people, and I said to them, “Do not be afraid of our enemies! Keep in mind God is great and glorious! And fight to protect your families, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

Our enemies heard that we knew what they were planning to do and that God had spoiled all their plans to stop our work. So we all returned to work on the wall, at the same places we were working before.

But after that, only half of the men there were doing the work on the wall. The others stood there holding their spears, shields, bows and arrows, and wearing armor for protection. The leaders stood guard behind the people of Judah.

Those who were building the wall and those who carried the heavy loads on their backs, all of them built the wall with one hand and held a weapon in the other hand.

All who were building the wall had his sword fastened to his side. The man who would blow the trumpet if our enemies attacked was standing at my side.

Then I said to the officials, the other important men, and the other people, “This is a huge job, and we are far apart from each other along the wall.

If you hear the man blowing the trumpet, gather around at that place. Our God will fight for us!”

So we continued to work. Half of the men continued to hold their spears all day, from when the sun rose in the morning until the stars appeared at night.

At that time, I also said to the people, “Tell every worker and his helper that they must stay inside Jerusalem at night. By doing that, they can guard us at night, and they can work on the wall during the daytime.”

During that time, I did not put away my clothing, and I always carried my weapon. The same was true of my brothers, my servants, and the men who followed me and served as guards. All of us did the same, even if we just went to get a drink of water.

The wall is defended against enemies

But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?”

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “What they are building, if a fox climbed up it, he would break down their stone wall.”

“Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity.

Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”

So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;

and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion among us.

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

Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading and there is much rubble, so that we are not able to build the wall.”

Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in among them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”

When the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

Therefore I set guards in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places. I set the people by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other held his weapon.

Among the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me.

I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally there to us. Our God will fight for us.”

So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

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

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.