Nehemiah 4

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.

1Sanballat heard that we were building the wall again. He got very angry. He made fun of the Jews.

2And 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?

2He talked in front of his friends and the army of Samaria. He said, "What are these weak Jews doing? Can they really build this wall? Will they offer sacrifices to God? Will they finish it in one day? Can they make burned stones new again from these piles of trash?"

Note"Feeble" in the old English means weak or worn out. Sanballat was insulting the workers.

3Now 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.

3Tobiah from Ammon was standing next to him. He said, "Even a fox could climb on their wall. It would fall right down!"

4Hear, 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:

4Nehemiah prayed: "Listen, our God. People look down on us. Turn their mean words back on them. Let them be taken away to a far land."

5And 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.

5"Do not cover up the wrong they have done. Do not wipe their sin away from your sight. They have made fun of us while we build."

6So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

6So we kept building the wall. Soon the whole wall was joined together. It stood half as tall as it should be. The people really wanted to work.

7But 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,

7Then Sanballat and Tobiah heard more news. So did the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod. They heard the wall was going up. They heard the holes were being filled in. This made them very angry.

8And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

8They all made a secret plan together. They would come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stop the work.

9Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

9But we prayed to our God. We also set guards to watch day and night.

10And 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.

10The people of Judah said, "The workers are getting too tired. There is so much broken rock. We will never finish this wall."

11And 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.

11Our enemies said, "They will not see us coming. We will walk right in. We will kill them and stop the work."

12And 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.

12Some Jews lived near our enemies. They came and warned us ten times. They said, "They will attack us from every side."

13Therefore 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.

13So I put people behind the lowest parts of the wall. I put them where the wall was weakest. I placed them family by family. They had swords, spears, and bows.

14And 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.

14I looked things over. Then I stood up and spoke to the leaders, the officials, and everyone else. I said, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord. He is great and powerful. Fight for your brothers and sisters. Fight for your sons and daughters. Fight for your wives and your homes."

NoteThe old English says God is "terrible." It does not mean bad. It means so great that people are filled with awe.

15And 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.

15Our enemies found out that we knew their plan. God had stopped it from working. So we all went back to the wall. Each one went back to his own job.

16And 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.

16From that day on, half of my men did the building. The other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The leaders stood behind all the people of Judah.

NoteA "habergeon" in the old English was a coat of armor made of metal.

17They 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.

17The people built the wall. The workers carried loads of stone and dirt. Each one worked with one hand. Each one held a weapon in the other hand.

18For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

18Every builder wore his sword at his side while he worked. The man with the trumpet stayed right beside me.

19And 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.

19I said to the leaders, the officials, and everyone else, "This job is very big. We are spread far apart along the wall."

20In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

20"Listen for the sound of the trumpet. Run to that spot and join us there. Our God will fight for us."

21So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

21So we kept working. Half the men held spears the whole time. They started at sunrise and stopped when the stars came out.

22Likewise 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.

22At that same time I told the people something else. "Every man and his helper must sleep inside Jerusalem. Then they can guard us at night and work by day."

23So 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.

23So none of us changed out of our clothes. Not me, not my brothers, not my servants, not the guards with me. Each of us kept his weapon close, even when we went for water.