1 But when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, then was he wroth and sore grieued, and mocked the Iewes, 2 And sayde before his brethren and the armie of Samaria, thus he sayde, What doe these weake Iewes? wil they fortifie them selues? wil they sacrifice? will they finish it in a day? will they make the stones whole againe out of the heapes of dust, seeing they are burnt? 3 And Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and said, Although they buylde, yet if a foxe goe vp, he shall euen breake downe their stonie wall. 4 Heare, O our God (for we are despised) and turne their shame vpon their owne head, and giue them vnto a pray in the lande of their captiuitie, 5 And couer not their iniquitie, neither let their sinne be put out in thy presence: for they haue prouoked vs before the builders. 6 So we built the wall, and all the wall was ioyned vnto the halfe thereof, and the heart of the people was to worke. 7 But when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodims heard that the walles of Ierusalem were repayred, (for the breaches began to be stopped) then they were very wroth, 8 And conspired all together to come and to fight against Ierusalem, and to hinder them. 9 The we prayed vnto our God, and set watchmen by them, day and night, because of them. 10 And Iudah said, The strength of the bearers is weakened, and there is much earth, so that we are not able to build the wall. 11 Also our aduersaries had sayde, They shall not knowe, neither see, till we come into the middes of them and slay them, and cause the worke to cease. 12 But when the Iewes (which dwelt beside them) came, they told vs ten times, From all places whence ye shall returne, they wil be vpon vs. 13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall vpon the toppes of the stones, and placed the people by their families, with their swordes, their speares and their bowes. 14 Then I behelde, and rose vp, and said vnto the Princes, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afrayde of them: remember the great Lord, and fearefull, and fight for your brethren, your sonnes, and your daughters, your wiues, and your houses. 15 And when our enemies heard that it was knowen vnto vs, then God brought their counsell to nought, and we turned all againe to the wall, euery one vnto his worke. 16 And from that day, halfe of the yong men did the labour, and the other halfe part of them helde the speares, and shieldes, and bowes, and habergins: and the rulers stoode behinde all the house of Iudah. 17 They that buylded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, and they that laded, did the worke with one hand, and with the other helde the sworde. 18 For euery one of the buylders had his sworde girded on his loynes, and so buylded: and he that blewe the trumpet, was beside me. 19 Then saide I vnto the Princes, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The worke is great and large, and we are separated vpon the wall, one farre from another. 20 In what place therefore ye heare the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither vnto vs: our God shall fight for vs. 21 So we laboured in the worke, and halfe of them helde the speares, from the appearing of the morning, till the starres came foorth. 22 And at the same time said I vnto the people, Let euery one with his seruant lodge within Ierusalem, that they may be a watch for vs in the night, and labour in the day. 23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my seruants, nor the men of the warde, (which followed me) none of vs did put off our clothes, saue euery one put them off for washing.
Nehemiah Overcomes Opposition to His Work
1 When Sanballat heard that we Jews had begun rebuilding the wall, he became furious and began to ridicule us. 2 In front of his companions and the Samaritan troops he said, “What do these miserable Jews think they're doing? Do they intend to rebuild the city? Do they think that by offering sacrifices they can finish the work in one day? Can they make building stones out of heaps of burnt rubble?”
3 Tobiah was standing there beside him, and he added, “What kind of wall could they ever build? Even a fox could knock it down!”
4 I prayed, “Hear how they make fun of us, O God! Let their ridicule fall on their own heads. Let them be robbed of everything they have, and let them be taken as prisoners to a foreign land. 5 Don't forgive the evil they do and don't forget their sins, for they have insulted us who are building.”
6 So we went on rebuilding the wall, and soon it was half its full height, because the people were eager to work.
7 Sanballat, Tobiah, and the people of Arabia, Ammon, and Ashdod heard that we were making progress in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and that the gaps in the wall were being closed, and they became very angry. 8 So they all plotted together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion, 9 but we prayed to our God and kept men on guard against them day and night.
10 The people of Judah had a song they sang:
“We grow weak carrying burdens;
There's so much rubble to take away.
How can we build the wall today?”
11 Our enemies thought we would not see them or know what was happening until they were already upon us, killing us and putting an end to our work. 12 But time after time Jews who were living among our enemies came to warn us of the plans our enemies were making against us. 13 So I armed the people with swords, spears, and bows, and stationed them by clans behind the wall, wherever it was still unfinished.
14 I saw that the people were worried, so I said to them and to their leaders and officials, “Don't be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and terrifying the Lord is, and fight for your relatives, your children, your wives, and your homes.” 15 Our enemies heard that we had found out what they were plotting, and they realized that God had defeated their plans. Then all of us went back to rebuilding the wall.
16 From then on half of my men worked and half stood guard, wearing coats of armor and armed with spears, shields, and bows. And our leaders gave their full support to the people 17 who were rebuilding the wall. Even those who carried building materials worked with one hand and kept a weapon in the other, 18 and everyone who was building kept a sword strapped to their waist. The man who was to sound the alarm on the bugle stayed with me. 19 I told the people and their officials and leaders, “The work is spread out over such a distance that we are widely separated from one another on the wall. 20 If you hear the bugle, gather around me. Our God will fight for us.” 21 So every day, from dawn until the stars came out at night, half of us worked on the wall, while the other half stood guard with spears.
22 During this time I told the men in charge that they and all their helpers had to stay in Jerusalem at night, so that we could guard the city at night as well as work in the daytime. 23 I didn't take off my clothes even at night, neither did any of my companions nor my servants nor my bodyguards. And we all kept our weapons at hand.