Nehemiah 4:3-13

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, "Even what they are building -¹if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!"

4 ²Hear, O our God, how we are despised! ³Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.

5 Do not ⁴forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before * You, for they have demoralized * the builders.

6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry.

8 All of them ⁵conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.

Discouragement Overcome

9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we ⁶set up a guard against them day and night.

10 Thus in Judah it was said, "The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable * To rebuild the wall."

11 Our enemies said, "They will not know or see until * we come among * them, kill them and put a stop to the work."

12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,"

13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I ⁷stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows.

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Nehemiah 4:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 4

This chapter relates, how the Jews, while building, were mocked by their enemies, to which no answer was returned but by prayer to God, and they went on notwithstanding in their work, Ne 4:1-6 and how that their enemies conspired against them, to hinder them by force of arms, Ne 4:7-12 to oppose which, both spiritual and temporal weapons were made use of, so that the work was still carried on, Ne 4:13-23.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 7

1. Lamentations 5:18
2. Psalms 123:3, 4
3. Psalms 79:12
4. Psalms 69:27, 28; Jeremiah 18:23
5. Psalms 83:3
6. Nehemiah 4:11
7. Nehemiah 4:17, 18

Footnotes 10

[a]. Lit "go up"
[b]. Lit "cover"
[c]. Lit "offended against"
[d]. Lit "heart"
[e]. Ch 4:1 in Heb
[f]. Lit "healing"
[g]. Lit "Judah said"
[h]. Lit "dust"
[i]. So Gr; Heb omits "they...up"
[j]. Lit "bare"