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The Blue Letter Bible

Nehemiah 4 :: New International Version (NIV)

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Opposition to the Rebuilding

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:1 - When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:2 - and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:3 - Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:4 - Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:5 - Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of[fn] the builders.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:6 - So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:7 - But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:8 - They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:9 - But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:10 - Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:11 - Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:12 - Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:13 - Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:14 - After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:15 - When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:16 - From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:17 - who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other,
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:18 - and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:19 - Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:20 - Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:21 - So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out.
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:22 - At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.”
Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 4:23 - Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.[fn]
NIV Footnotes
Or have aroused your anger before
The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
NIV

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For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

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Nehemiah Chapter 4 — Additional Translations: