⁷But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod were very angry when they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls were continuing and that the holes in the wall were being closed. ⁸So they all made plans to come to Jerusalem and fight and stir up trouble. ⁹But we prayed to our God and appointed guards to watch for them day and night.

¹⁰The people of Judah said, “The workers are getting tired. There is so much trash we cannot rebuild the wall.”

¹¹And our enemies said, “The Jews won’t know or see anything until we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”

¹²Then the Jewish people who lived near our enemies came and told us ten times, “Everywhere you turn, the enemy will attack us.” ¹³So I put people behind the lowest places along the wall—the open places—and I put families together with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴Then I looked around and stood up and said to the important men, the leaders, and the rest of the people: “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and powerful. Fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

¹⁵Then our enemies heard that we knew about their plans and that God had ruined their plans. So we all went back to the wall, each to his own work.

¹⁶From that day on, half my people worked on the wall. The other half was ready with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stood in back of the people of Judah ¹⁷who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and carried a weapon with the other. ¹⁸Each builder wore his sword at his side as he worked. The man who blew the trumpet to warn the people stayed next to me.

¹⁹Then I said to the important people, the leaders, and everyone else, “This is a very big job. We are spreading out along the wall so that we are far apart. ²⁰Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹So we continued to work with half the men holding spears from sunrise till the stars came out. ²²At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night. They can be our guards at night and workmen during the day.” ²³Neither I, my brothers, my workers, nor the guards with me ever took off our clothes. Each person carried his weapon even when he went for water.

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