Nehemiah 4:4

4 I prayed, "Hear how they make fun of us, O God! Let their ridicule fall on their own heads. Let them be robbed of everything they have, and let them be taken as prisoners to a foreign land.

Nehemiah 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:4

Hear, O our God, for we are despised
Here begins the prayer of Nehemiah, who had been informed of what these men said in contempt of him, and his builders, and to whom he sent no answer, but applied to God:

and turn their reproach upon their own head;
as they have despised and reproached us, let them be despised and reproached by their neighbours:

give them for a prey in the land of captivity;
let them be carried captive, as we have been, and become a prey and booty to their enemies.

Nehemiah 4:4 In-Context

2 In front of his companions and the Samaritan troops he said, "What do these miserable Jews think they're doing? Do they intend to rebuild the city? Do they think that by offering sacrifices they can finish the work in one day? Can they make building stones out of heaps of burnt rubble?"

3 Tobiah was standing there beside him, and he added, "What kind of wall could they ever build? Even a fox could knock it down!"

4 I prayed, "Hear how they make fun of us, O God! Let their ridicule fall on their own heads. Let them be robbed of everything they have, and let them be taken as prisoners to a foreign land.

5 Don't forgive the evil they do and don't forget their sins, for they have insulted us who are building."

6 So we went on rebuilding the wall, and soon it was half its full height, because the people were eager to work.