^{4:1 (3:33)}¹ Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews, ^4:2and in the presence of his colleagues² and the army of Samaria³ he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves?⁴ Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

^4:3Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

^4:4Hear, O our God, for we are despised! Return their reproach on their own head! Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! ^4:5Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from before them. For they have bitterly offended⁵ the builders!⁶

^4:6So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.⁷ The people were enthusiastic in their work.⁸

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Footnotes

1 Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:23 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (), with 4:1 = 3:33 , 4:2 = 3:34 , 4:3 = 3:35 , 4:4 = 3:36 , 4:5 = 3:37 , 4:6 = 3:38 , 4:7 = 4:1 , etc., through 4:23 = 4:17 . Thus in the Hebrew Bible chap. 3 of the Book of Nehemiah has 38 verses, while chap. 4 has only 17 verses.
2 Heb “brothers.”
3 For location see ; ; ; ; .
4 The Hebrew text is difficult here. The present translation follows the , but the text may be corrupt. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [], ) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (lelohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of . In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra-Nehemiah [], 242–44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the reading may be the notion that the workers—if left to their own limited resources—could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (’azav, “to leave”) plus לְ (lé, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”
5 The Hiphil stem of כָּעַס (ka’as) may mean: (1) “to provoke to anger”; (2) “to bitterly offend”; or (3) “to grieve” ( 495 Hiph.; כעס hif). The Hebrew lexicons suggest that “bitterly offend” is the most appropriate nuance here.
6 Heb “before the builders.” The preposition נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) here connotes “in the sight of” or “in the view of” ( 617 1.a; 1.a).
7 Heb “up to its half.”
8 Heb “the people had a heart to work.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”

Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews before 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?” Then 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!”

Listen, 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. Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered the builders.

So 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.

NLTNew Living Translation

Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”

Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.”

At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now it happened when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he became angry and greatly provoked, and he mocked the Jews. Then he said before his brothers and the army of Samaria, “What are the feeble Jews doing? Will they restore these things for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the piles of rubble—even those burned up?”

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, “Their wall of stone that they are building would break down if a fox went on it!”

Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn on their head and give them over to plunder in the land of captivity. Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have provoked the builders to anger.

So we rebuilt the wall, and all of the wall was joined up to half its height. For the people had a heart to do it.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. 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? 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. 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: 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. 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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