Nehemiah 4:22

22 I also instructed the people, "Each person and his helper is to stay inside Jerusalem - guards by night and workmen by day."

Nehemiah 4:22 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:22

Likewise at the same time said I unto the people
That were at work upon the wall:

let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem;
every builder had a servant, or a lad, as the word signifies, to wait upon him, to bring mortar or stone, or what he wanted; and some of these builders, with their lads, came out of the country towns and villages in the morning, and returned at night; now Nehemiah proposed, for the safety of the city and its walls, that for the present they would lodge in Jerusalem:

that in the night they may be a guard unto us, and labour on the day;
might help to protect them in the night, should they be surprised with the enemy, and be ready for their work in the daytime.

Nehemiah 4:22 In-Context

20 When you hear the trumpet call, join us there; our God will fight for us."

21 And so we kept working, from first light until the stars came out, half of us holding lances.

22 I also instructed the people, "Each person and his helper is to stay inside Jerusalem - guards by night and workmen by day."

23 We all slept in our clothes - I, my brothers, my workmen, and the guards backing me up. And each one kept his spear in his hand, even when getting water.