The Work Ridiculed

1Bvt whan Saneballat herde that we builded ye wall, he was wroth, & toke greate indignacio & mocked ye Iewes 2& saide before his brethre & the mightie men of Samaria: What do the impotet Iewes? shall they be thus suffred? shall they offre? shal they perfourme it in one daie? shal they make ye stones whole againe, yt are brought to dust, & brent? 3And Tobias the Ammonite beside him saide: Let the builde on, yf a foxe go vp, he shall breake downe their stonye wall.

4Heare O thou oure God, how we are despysed, turne their shame vpon their awne heade, yt thou mayest geue them ouer in to despisinge in the londe of their captiuite. 5Couer not their wickednesse, & put not out their sinne fro yi presence: for they haue prouoked the buylders.

6Yet buylded we the wall, & ioyned it whole together, vnto ye halfe heigth. And the people were well mynded to labor.

7But whan Saneballat, & Tobias, and ye Arabias, & Ammonites, & Asdodites herde, yt the walles of Ierusalem were made vp, and that they had begonne to stoppe vp ye gappes, they were very wroth, 8and cospyred all together, to come and fight against Ierusalem, & to make an hinderaunce therin.

Discouragement Overcome

9Neuertheles we made or praier vnto oure God, & set watchme vpo the wall daye & night ouer against them.

10And Iuda saide: The stregth of the bearers is to feble, & there is to moch dust, we are not able to builde on the wall.

11And or aduersaries thought: They shall not knowe nether se, tyll we come in the myddes amonge the, and slaye them, & hynder ye worke. 12But whan the Iewes that dwelt besyde them, came out of all the places where they dwelt aboute vs, and tolde vs as good as te tymes, 13then set I the people after their kynreds with their swerdes, speares & bowes beneth in the lowe places behynde the wall, 14& loked, and gat me vp, and sayde vnto the chefe men and rulers, & to the other people: Be not ye afrayed of them, thynke vpon ye greate LORDE which ought to be feared, & fighte for yor brethren, sonnes, daughters, wyues, & houses.

15Neuertheles whan or enemies herde yt we had gotten worde of it, God broughte their councell to naughte, and we turned all againe to the wall, euery one vnto his labor. 16And from that time forth it came to passe, yt the halfe parte of the yonge men dyd the laboure, & the other halfe parte helde the speares, shyldes, bowes, and brestplates, and the rulers stode behynde all the house of Iuda, 17which buylded on the wall, & bare burthes, from those that laded the. With one hande dyd they ye worke, and with the other helde they the weapen. 18And euery one yt buylded, had his swerde girde by his side, & so builded they. And the trompetters stode beside me. 19And I sayde vnto the pryncipall men, & rulers, and to ye other people: The worke is greate & large, & we are separated vpon the wall one farre from another. 20Loke in what place now ye heare the noise of ye trompe, resorte ye thither vnto vs. Oure God shal fight for vs,

21& we wil be labourige in ye worke. And the halfe parte of the helde ye speares fro ye morninge springe, till ye starres came forth. 22And at ye same tyme sayde I vnto ye people: Euery one abyde with his seruaunt at Ierusalem, yt in the night season we maye geue attendaunce to ye watch, and to laboure on the daye tyme. 23As for me and my brethren, & my seruauntes, and ye men of the watch behynde me, we put neuer of oure clothes, so so moch as to washe oure selues.