Nehemiah 4 NKJV ISV Parallel

◄ Nehemiah 4 ►

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1But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

1 When Sanballat heard that we were reconstructing the wall, he flew into a rage, became indignant, and mocked the Jews.

2And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”

2He addressed his allies and the Samaritan officials, saying "What are these pathetic Jews doing? Are they intending to rebuild it by themselves? Do they intend to offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a single day? Can they make stones from this burned out rubble?"

3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

3Tobiah the Ammonite stood to the side, commenting, "If a fox were to jump onto what they're building, it would collapse their stone wall!"

4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!

4"Listen, our God, because we are being mocked. Let their insults fall back on them, and let them be dragged away as captives into exile.

5Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.

5Don't atone their iniquity, and don't let their sin be blotted out from before you, because they have demoralized the builders."

6So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

6So we rebuilt the wall, completing it halfway up, because the people were committed to working.

7Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry,

7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair work on the Jerusalem wall was progressing and that its breaches were being repaired, they flew into a rage.

8and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.

8So they all conspired together to invade and fight against Jerusalem, creating confusion there.

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

9But we prayed to our God. We also set up guards day and night because of them.

10Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”

10Meanwhile, the people of Judah said, "The builders are tired and there's so much rubble that we can't reconstruct the wall!"

11And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”

11Our enemies said, "Before they notice or see us, we'll penetrate their midst, kill them, and stop the work!"

12So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

12The Jews who lived near them kept coming to us, reporting at least ten times, "They'll attack us from every direction."

13Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

13So I stationed the people by families behind the wall in the lower exposed areas, equipping them with their swords, spears, and bows.

14And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

14Looking things over, I stood up and spoke to the officials, the military leaders, and the rest of the people: "Don't fear them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

15And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

15Our opponents heard that we had learned about them, that God had brought their plans to failure, and that each and every one of us had come to work on the wall.

16So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.

16From that day on, half of my helpers engaged in the work while the other half kept spears, shields, bows, and armor ready. The senior officials backed all of the Judeans

17Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.

17who worked on the wall. Those who carried building materials worked with one hand, carrying a spear in the other.

18Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

18Each builder worked with a sword strapped to his side, while a trumpeter remained beside me to sound an alarm.

19Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.

19I told the officials, rulers, and the rest of the people, "The project is large and extensive, and we are separated from each other on the wall,

20Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

20so wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, come over to us, and our God will fight for us!"

21So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.

21So we worked hard, half of us holding spears from dawn to dusk.

22At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.”

22At the same time I told the people, "Let's have everyone sleep at night inside Jerusalem with their servants, so they can guard us at night and work during the day.

23So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.

23No one—neither I, my allies, my servants, nor the bodyguards who accompanied me—changed clothes. Everyone carried a weapon even while going for water.

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