Nehemiah 4:14

14 And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

Nehemiah 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:14

And I looked
Took a view of the people, and observed that they were in their proper place, and sufficiently armed, and also whether the enemy was coming:

and rose up and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the
rest of the people;
who were under their nobles and rulers, as their captains and commanders:

be not ye afraid of them;
of their enemies, their numbers, and their threats:

remember the Lord, which is great and terrible;
who is greater than they, and is to be feared and trusted in by his people, and is terrible even to the kings of the earth:

and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives
and your houses;
intimating, that they were in danger of losing all that was near and dear, valuable and precious to them, if they did not fight for them; and therefore it became them to quit themselves like men, and be strong.

Nehemiah 4:14 In-Context

12 And it came to pass that when the Jews that dwelt by them came and told us so ten times, from all the places whence they returned to us,
13 I set in the lower places behind the wall in exposed places, I even set the people, according to their families, with their swords, their spears and their bows.
14 And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.
15 And it came to pass that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had defeated their counsel, we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work.
16 And from that time forth the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the corslets; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.