Nehemiah 4:18-23

18 And the builders had every one his sword girded by his side, and built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

19 And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and extended, and we are scattered upon the wall, one far from another:

20 in what place ye hear the sound of the trumpet, thither shall ye assemble to us; our God will fight for us.

21 And we laboured in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the dawn till the stars appeared.

22 Likewise at the same time I said to the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and [be for] labour in the day.

23 And neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard that followed me, none of us put off our garments: every one had his weapon on his right side.

Nehemiah 4:18-23 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]. Heb. 'young man;' and so ver. 23 and ch. 5.15,16.
• [b]. Others. '... [in going to] the water;' probably a corrupt reading.