Nehemiah 4:1-10

1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews,

2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”

3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”

4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land!

5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.”

6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.

7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.

8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.

9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”

Nehemiah 4:1-10 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Verses 4:1-6 are numbered 3:33-38 in Hebrew text.
• [b]. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
• [c]. Or for they have thrown insults in the face of.
• [d]. Verses 4:7-23 are numbered 4:1-17 in Hebrew text.