Nehemiah 4:16

16 From then on, half of my men would do the work; and half of them held the spears, shields, bows and armor; while the leaders stood guard behind the entire house of Y'hudah,

Nehemiah 4:16 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:16

And it came to pass from that time forth
That they were thus alarmed of danger from their enemies:

that the half of my servants wrought in the work;
of building the wall; his domestic servants, his guards, or mighty men, as Jarchi, men of war, the soldiers:

and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the
bows;
some offensive, others defensive weapons; some to fight with at a distance, others near at hand:

and the habergeons;
coats of mail, which they took and clothed themselves with:

and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah;
the Jews that were working at the wall, to animate and encourage them, protect and defend them.

Nehemiah 4:16 In-Context

14 After inspecting them, I stood up and addressed the nobles, leaders and the rest of the people: "Don't be afraid of them! Remember Adonai, who is great and fearful; and fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, wives and homes."

15 When our enemies heard that the plot was known to us, and God had foiled their plans, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

16 From then on, half of my men would do the work; and half of them held the spears, shields, bows and armor; while the leaders stood guard behind the entire house of Y'hudah,

17 as they continued building the wall. Those who carried loads held their loads with one hand and carried a weapon in the other.

18 As for the construction-workers, each one had his sword sheathed at his side; that is how they built. The man to sound the alarm on the shofar stayed with me.