Nehemiah 4:4

4 [Nehemiah prayed,] "Our God, hear us. We are despised. Turn their insults back on them, and let them be robbed in the land where they are prisoners.

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 allies and the army from Samaria, he said, "What do these miserable Jews think they're doing? Can they rebuild it by themselves? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Will they get the stones out of the rubbish heaps, burned as these stones are, and give them new strength?"

3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside Sanballat, said, "Even a fox would make their stone wall collapse if it walked on top of what they're building!"

4 [Nehemiah prayed,] "Our God, hear us. We are despised. Turn their insults back on them, and let them be robbed in the land where they are prisoners.

5 Don't ignore their guilt, and don't let their sins disappear from your records. They have insulted you in front of these builders."

6 So we rebuilt the wall, which was rebuilt to about half its [original] height. The people worked with determination.