| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. | 1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, |
| 2And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” | 2saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” |
| 3Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” | 3Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” |
| 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. | 4Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! |
| 5Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. | 5Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.” |
| 6So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. | 6At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. |
| 7But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. | 7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. |
| 8And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. | 8They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. |
| 9And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. | 9But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. |
| 10In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” | 10Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.” |
| 11And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” | 11Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.” |
| 12At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” | 12The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!” |
| 13So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. | 13So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. |
| 14And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” | 14Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” |
| 15When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. | 15When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. |
| 16From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, | 16But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah |
| 17who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. | 17who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. |
| 18And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. | 18All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm. |
| 19And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. | 19Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. |
| 20In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” | 20When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!” |
| 21So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. | 21We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard. |
| 22I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” | 22I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day. |
| 23So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand. | 23During this time, none of us—not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me—ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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