| Chapter
4 |
| 1 | But it
came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth,
and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. |
|
2 | And 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? |
| 3 | Now 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. |
| 4 | Hear,
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: |
|
5 | And 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. |
| 6 | So built
we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for
the people had a mind to work. |
| 7
| But 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, |
| 8 | And
conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to
hinder it. |
| 9 | Nevertheless
we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night,
because of them. |
| 10 | And
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. |
| 11 | And 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. |
| 12 |
And 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. |
| 13 | Therefore
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. |
| 14 | And 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. |
| 15 |
And 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. |
| 16
| And 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. |
| 17 | They
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. |
| 18 | For
the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And
he that sounded the trumpet was by me. |
| 19 | And 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. |
|
20 | In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort
ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. |
|
21 | So we laboured in the work: and half of them held
the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. |
| 22 | Likewise 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. |
| 23 | So 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. |
