| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. | 1When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews |
| 2And 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? | 2before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria, and said, "What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?" |
| 3Now 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. | 3Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, "Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!" |
| 4Hear, 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: | 4Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. |
| 5And 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. | 5Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from Your sight, because they have provoked the builders. |
| 6So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. | 6So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working. |
| 7But 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, | 7When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious. |
| 8And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. | 8They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion. |
| 9Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. | 9So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night. |
| 10And 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. | 10In Judah, it was said: The strength of the laborer fails, since there is so much rubble. We will never be able to rebuild the wall. |
| 11And 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. | 11And our enemies said, "They won't know or see anything until we're among them and can kill them and stop the work." |
| 12And 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. | 12When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, "Everywhere you turn, they attack us." |
| 13Therefore 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. | 13So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows. |
| 14And 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. | 14After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes." |
| 15And 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. | 15When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall. |
| 16And 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. | 16From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah, |
| 17They 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. | 17who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. |
| 18For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. | 18Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the trumpeter was beside me. |
| 19And 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. | 19Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: "The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall. |
| 20In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. | 20Wherever you hear the trumpet sound, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!" |
| 21So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. | 21So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out. |
| 22Likewise 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. | 22At that time, I also said to the people, "Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day." |
| 23So 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. | 23And I, my brothers, my men, and the guards with me never took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing. |
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