Nehemiah 4
The Workmen Guard
against the Adversaries |
1 |
But it came to pass, that when Sanbal'lat
heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great
indignation, and mocked the Jews.
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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?
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3 |
Now Tobi'ah 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.
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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:
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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.
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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.
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7 |
But it came to pass, that when
Sanbal'lat, and Tobi'ah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and
the Ash'dodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were
very wroth,
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8 |
and conspired all of them together to
come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder
it.
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9 |
Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our
God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of
them.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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20 |
In what place therefore ye hear
the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall
fight for us.
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21 |
So we labored in the work: and half of
them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars
appeared.
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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 labor on the
day.
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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.
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