⁷But Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls continued to be repaired. The Arabs and some people from Ammon heard the same thing. Some men from Ashdod heard about it too. They heard that the gaps in the wall were being filled in. So they burned with anger. ⁸All of them made evil plans to come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stir up trouble against it.

⁹But we prayed to our God. We put guards on duty day and night to watch out for danger.

¹⁰During that time, the people in Judah spoke up. They said, “The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. Broken stones are piled up everywhere. They are in our way. So we can’t rebuild the wall.”

¹¹And our enemies said, “We will be right there among them. We’ll kill them. We’ll put an end to their work. We’ll do it before they even know it or see us.”

¹²Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. They told us ten times, “No matter where you are, they’ll attack us.”

¹³So I stationed some people behind the lowest parts of the wall. That’s where our enemies could easily attack us. I stationed the people family by family. They had their swords, spears and bows with them.

¹⁴I looked things over. Then I stood up and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. I said, “Don’t be afraid of your enemies. Remember the Lord. He is great and powerful. So fight for your brothers and sisters. Fight for your sons and daughters. Fight for your wives and homes.”

¹⁵Our enemies heard that we knew what they were trying to do. They heard that God had blocked their evil plans. So all of us returned to the wall. Each of us did our own work.

¹⁶From that day on, half of my men did the work. The other half were given spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all of the people of Judah. ¹⁷The people continued to build the wall. Those who carried supplies did their work with one hand. They held a weapon in the other hand. ¹⁸Each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who blew the trumpet stayed with me.

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