1 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.
2 And 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?
3 Now 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.
4 Hear, 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:
5 And 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.
6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
7 But 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,
8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 And 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.
13 Therefore 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.
14 And 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.
15 And 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.
16 And 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.
17 They 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.
18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
19 And 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.
20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.
21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
22 Likewise 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.
23 So 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.

1But it came to passe, that when Sanballat heard, that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and tooke great indignation, and mocked the Iewes.

2And he spake before his brethren, and the army of Samaria, and said, What doe these feeble Iewes? wil they fortifie themselues? will they sacrifice? wil they make an end in a day? wil they reuiue the stones, out of the heapes of the rubbish, which are burnt?

3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Euen that which they build, if a foxe goe vp, he shall euen breake downe their stone wall.

4Heare, O our God, for we are despised: and turne their reproch vpon their owne head, and giue them for a pray, in the land of captiuitie.

5And couer not their iniquitie, and let not their sinne bee blotted out from before thee: for they haue prouoked thee to anger before the builders.

6So built we the wall, and all the wall was ioyned together vnto the halfe therof: for the people had a minde to worke.

7 But it came to passe that when Sanballat and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walles of Ierusalem were made vp, and that the breaches began to bee stopped, then they were very wroth,

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

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

10And Iudah 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.

11And our aduersaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till wee come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the worke to cease.

12And it came to passe that when the Iewes which dwelt by them, came, they said vnto vs ten time, From all places, whence yee shall returne vnto vs, they will be vpon you.

13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I euen set the people, after their families, with their swords, their speares, and their bowes.

14And I looked, and rose vp, and said vnto the Nobles, and to the rulers, and to rest of the people, Bee not ye afraid of them: Remember the Lord which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sonnes and your daughters, your wiues & your houses.

15And it came to passe when our enemies heard that it was knowen vnto vs, and God had brought their counsell to nought, that we returned all of vs to the wall, euery one vnto his worke.

16And it came to passe from that time forth, that the halfe of my seruants wrought in the worke, and the other halfe of them held both the speares, the shields and the bowes, and the habergeons, and the rulers were behind all the house of Iudah.

17They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, euery one with one of his hands wrought in the worke, and with the other hand held a weapon.

18For the builders, euery one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded: and he that sounded the trumpet was by mee.

19 And I said vnto the Nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The worke is great and large, and wee are separated vpon the wall, one farre from another:

20In what place therefore ye heare the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither vnto vs: our God shal fight for vs.

21So wee laboured in the worke: and halfe of them held the speares, from the rising of the morning, til the starres appeared.

22Likewise at the same time said I vnto the people, Let euery one, with his seruant, lodge within Ierusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to vs, and labour on the day.

23So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my seruants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of vs put off our clothes, sauing that euery one put them off for washing.

I == Neh 2:10 , 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

III == Neh 2:10 , 19

 

 

IV == Ps 79:12 ; 123:3-4 ; Prov 3:34

V == Ps 69:27-28 ; 109:14-15 ; Jer 18:23

 

 

 

VII == Neh 4:1

 

 

 

 

 

VIII == Ps 83:3-5

 

IX == Ps 50:15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Num 14:9 ; Deut 1:29 ; 10:17 ; 2nd Sam 10:12

 

 

 

XV == Job 5:12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == Ex 14:14 , 25 ; Deut 1:30 ; 3:22 ; 20:4 ; Josh 23:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXIII == Judg 5:11

1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem was progressing - for the gaps were beginning to be closed up - they became extremely angry.

2 Thereupon they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and thus to throw us into confusion.

3 We prayed to our God and posted a watch against them day and night for fear of what they might do.

4 Meanwhile the Judahites were saying: "Slackened is the bearers' strength, there is no end to the rubbish; Never shall we be able the wall to rebuild."

5 Our enemies thought, "Before they are aware of it or see us, we shall come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work."

6 When the Jews who lived near them had come to us from one place after another, and had told us ten times over that they were about to attack us,

7 I stationed guards down below, behind the wall, near the exposed points, assigning them by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

8 I made an inspection, then addressed these words to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: "Have no fear of them! Keep in mind the LORD, who is great and to be feared, and fight for your brethren, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes."

9 When our enemies became aware that we had been warned and that God had upset their plan, we all went back, each to his own task at the wall.

10 From that time on, however, only half my able men took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah

11 as they rebuilt the wall. The load carriers, too, were armed; each did his work with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

12 Every builder, while he worked, had his sword girt at his side. Also, a trumpeter stood beside me,

13 for I had said to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: "Our work is scattered and extensive, and we are widely separated from one another along the wall;

14 wherever you hear the trumpet sound, join us there; our God will fight with us."

15 Thus we went on with the work, half of the men with spears at the ready, from daybreak till the stars came out.

16 At the same time I told the people to spend the nights inside Jerusalem, each man with his own attendant, so that they might serve as a guard by night and a working force by day.

17 Neither I, nor my kinsmen, nor any of my attendants, nor any of the bodyguard that accompanied me took off his clothes; everyone kept his weapon at his right hand.

v 1-3. Babylon’s power had diminished to the point Judah could not rely on it for protection. In 2:19 the enemies had scorned the Jews and accused them of rebellion. Now the angry opposition was mockery and ridicule. Many a believer has weakened his stand for Christ because he could not stand up to ridicule.

 

v 4-6. Nehemiah was cut by the ridicule and took his problem to God in prayer. His imprecatory prayer may seem strange as we are told to pray for our enemies. It must be noted he was praying in God’s will to do what He had already promised to do to these enemies, Josh. 1:5; Gen. 12:3. He was not attempting to take his own vengeance, because vengeance belongs to God, Deut 32:35, Rom. 12:19.   By verse 6 the wall is half built, but later opposition probably made the last half go slower.

 

 

v 7-9. Arabs from the south, Tobiah and Ammonites from the east, Samaritans from the north, and Ashdod from the west, planned to unite and attack from all sides. The plan was found out and again the people prayed, but they also posted a watch.

 

 

 

 

v 10-12. The workers became discouraged from physical and psychological stress. The imminence of a surprise attack further weakened their resolve. “Ten times”, as used here, simply meant many times. The Jews who were helping from outside the city in chapter three came from at least Jericho v2, Tekoa v5, Gibeon v7, Zanoah

 

 

v13, Bethhaccherilm

 

v14, Mizpah

 

v15, Beth-zur

 

v16, Keilah

 

v17, priests who lived on the plain v22, (Ophel, v26, was a ridge of hills inside Jerusalem, fortified for defense.)
v aye. Apparently the work stopped briefly while everyone took up defensive positions near their own homes, much as they were assigned to build. People fight harder when their own families are at stake. Having lost the element of surprise, the enemies became less of a threat, so the people went back to work. However, now half of them worked while the others stood by with weapons, and even the rulers assisted. For added protection, even those working carried their weapons with them. 

v 18-20. A trumpeter stayed with Nehemiah to sound any warning alarm, and since they were so scattered, all were to assemble at the place of attack. They were encouraged to rely upon God to fight for them. 
v 21-23. They labored from dawn till dark with half of them working, half guarding. Those living outside the city stayed inside for their own safety and to help guard at night. Knowing an attack could come at any time, Nehemiah and those close to him did not even take off their clothes except to wash.