Nehemiah 4 - The Scriptures 1998

¹ And it came to be, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was wroth and highly offended, and mocked the Yehuḏ

² And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Shomeron, and said, “What are these feeble Yehuḏ

³ And Toḇ

⁴ “Hear, O our Elohim, for we have become despised. And turn back their reproach on their own heads, and give them as a prey in a land of captivity!

⁵ “And do not cover over their crookedness, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You, for they have provoked You before the builders.”

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to the half of it, for the people had a heart to work.

⁷ And it came to be, when Sanballat and Toḇ

⁸ and all of them conspired together to come to fight against Yerushalayim and to do harm to it.

⁹ But we prayed to our Elohim, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

¹⁰ And Yehuḏ

¹¹ And our adversaries said, “Let them not know or see it until we come into their midst and shall slay them, and cause the work to cease.”

¹² And it came to be, when the Yehuḏ

¹³ So I set men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings – I set the people according to their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

¹⁴ And I looked, and rose up and said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome, יהוה, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.”

¹⁵ And it came to be, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that Elohim had brought their counsel to naught, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

¹⁶ And it came to be, from that time on, that half of my servants were working in the work, while the other half were holding the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the breastplates. And the rulers were behind all the house of Yehuḏ

¹⁷ who were building on the wall, and those bearing burdens, those loading, working with one hand in the work, and with the other holding a weapon.

¹⁸ As for the builders, each one had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the ram’s horn was beside me.

¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.

²⁰ “In whatever place you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, join us there. Our Elohim fights for us.”

²¹ So we laboured in the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of day until the stars appeared.

²² At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant spend the night in Yerushalayim, and they shall be our guard by night, and for the work by day.”

²³ So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our garments, each one his weapon even at the water.