4:1  BUT WHEN Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and in a great rage, and he ridiculed the Jews.

4:2  And he said before his brethren and the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things [at will and by themselves]? Will they [try to bribe their God] with sacrifices? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?

4:3  Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, What they build--if a fox climbs upon it, he will break down their stone wall.

4:4  [And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity.

4:5  Cover not their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have vexed [with alarm] the builders {and} provoked You.

4:6  So we built the wall, and all [of it] was joined together to half its height, for the people had a heart {and} mind to work.

4:7  But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were going up and that the breaches were being closed, they were very angry.

4:8  And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem, to injure {and} cause confusion {and} failure in it.

4:9  But because of them we made our prayer to our God and set a watch against them day and night.

4:10  And [the leaders of] Judah said, The strength of the burden bearers is weakening, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to work on the wall.

4:11  And our enemies said, They will not know or see till we come into their midst and kill them and stop the work.

4:12  And when the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, You must return [to guard our little villages]; from all places where they dwell they will be upon us.

4:13  So I set [armed men] behind the wall in places where it was least protected; I even thus used the people as families with their swords, spears, and bows.

4:14  I looked [them over] and rose up and said to the nobles and officials and the other people, Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord {and} imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

4:15  And when our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated their purpose, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

4:16  And from that time forth, half of my servants worked at the task, and the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah.

4:17  Those who built the wall and those who bore burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other hand,

4:18  And every builder had his sword girded by his side, and so worked. And he who sounded the trumpet was at my side.

4:19  And I said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people, The work is great and scattered, and we are separated on the wall, one far from another.

4:20  In whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.

4:21  So we labored at the work while half of them held the spears from dawn until the stars came out.

4:22  At that time also I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that at night they may be a guard to us and a laborer during the day.

4:23  So none of us--I, my kinsmen, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me--took off our clothes; each kept his weapon [in his hand for days].