Nehemiah 4:22

22 I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant spend the night in Jerusalem so that we can guard during the night and work during the 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 sound, come and gather where we are. Our God will fight for us!"

21 So we continued the work, with half of them holding spears from dawn until dusk.

22 I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant spend the night in Jerusalem so that we can guard during the night and work during the day."

23 Neither I nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor my bodyguards took off our clothes, even when they sent for water.