1 B ut when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and in a great rage, and he ridiculed the Jews.

2 A nd he said before his brethren and the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things ? Will they with sacrifices? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?

3 N ow 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 H ear, 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.

5 C over not their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have vexed the builders and provoked You.

6 S o we built the wall, and all was joined together to half its height, for the people had a heart and mind to work.

7 B ut 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.

8 A nd they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem, to injure and cause confusion and failure in it.

9 B ut because of them we made our prayer to our God and set a watch against them day and night.

10 A nd Judah said, The strength of the burden bearers is weakening, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to work on the wall.

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

12 A nd when the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, You must return; from all places where they dwell they will be upon us.

13 S o I set behind the wall in places where it was least protected; I even thus used the people as families with their swords, spears, and bows.

14 I looked and rose up and said to the nobles and officials and the other people, Do not be afraid of the enemy; remember the Lord and imprint Him, great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

15 A nd 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.

16 A nd 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.

17 T hose 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,

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

19 A nd 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.

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

21 S o we labored at the work while half of them held the spears from dawn until the stars came out.

22 A t 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.

23 S o 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.