Nehemiah 4:1

1 But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and took great indignation and mocked the Jews.

Nehemiah 4:1 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:1

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we
builded the wall
Or were building it; for as yet it was not finished, see ( Nehemiah 4:6 ) ,

he was wroth, and took great indignation;
inwardly, though outwardly he pretended to treat the work with contempt, as if it never would be accomplished, which yet he feared:

and mocked the Jews;
as a set of foolish builders, and unable to finish what they had begun.

Nehemiah 4:1 In-Context

1 But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and took great indignation and mocked the Jews.

2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Is this to be permitted them? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish on time? Will they resurrect the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which were burned?

3 Now Tobiah, the Ammonite, was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox were to go up it, he would break down their stone wall.

4 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 their captivity.

5 And do not cover their iniquity, nor let their sin be blotted out from before thee, for they have become angry against the builders.