Nehemiah 4:7–18

⁷But when Sanballat, Tobiah,^k the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. ⁸They all plotted together^l to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. ⁹But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

¹⁰Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers^m is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

¹¹Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

¹²Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

¹³Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. ¹⁴After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraidⁿ of them. Remember^o the Lord, who is great and awesome,^p and fight^q for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

¹⁵When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it,^r we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.

¹⁶From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah ¹⁷who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon^s in the other, ¹⁸and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet^t stayed with me.