Parallel Bible results for "nehemiah 4"

Nehemiah 4

Third Millennium Bible TMB

1 But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and felt great indignation and mocked the Jews.

2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they make sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?"

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, "Indeed that which they build, if a fox go up, even he shall break down their stone wall."

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity.

5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee; for they have provoked Thee to anger before the builders.

6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 But it came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

8 and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it.

9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

10 And Judah said, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall."

11 And our adversaries said, "They shall not know, neither see, until we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease."

12 And it came to pass that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, "From all places whence ye shall return unto us, they will be upon you."

13 Therefore set I men in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places; I even set the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

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

15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields and the bows and the jackets of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

17 Those who built on the wall and those who bore burdens with those who loaded -- every one with one of his hands wrought in the work and with the other hand held a weapon.

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

19 And I said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us. Our God shall fight for us."

21 So we labored in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

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

23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us, put off our clothes, except that every one put them off for washing.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 When Sanballat heard we were rebuilding the wall, he became enraged and made fun of the Jews.

2 In front of his allies and the army from Samaria, he said, "What do these miserable Jews think they're doing? Can they rebuild it by themselves? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Will they get the stones out of the rubbish heaps, burned as these stones are, and give them new strength?"

3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside Sanballat, said, "Even a fox would make their stone wall collapse if it walked on top of what they're building!"

4 [Nehemiah prayed,] "Our God, hear us. We are despised. Turn their insults back on them, and let them be robbed in the land where they are prisoners.

5 Don't ignore their guilt, and don't let their sins disappear from your records. They have insulted you in front of these builders."

6 So we rebuilt the wall, which was rebuilt to about half its [original] height. The people worked with determination.

7 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod heard that the repair work on the walls of Jerusalem was making progress and that the gaps were being filled in, they became furious.

8 All of them plotted to attack Jerusalem to create confusion.

9 But we prayed to our God and set guards to protect us day and night.

10 Then the people of Judah said, "The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can't continue to rebuild the wall."

11 Our enemies said, "Before they know what is happening or see a thing, we will be right in the middle of them. We'll kill them and bring the work to an end."

12 Jews who were living near our enemies warned us ten times that our enemies would attack us from every direction.

13 That is why I positioned people by their families behind the wall where it was lowest and most exposed. The people were armed with swords, spears, and bows.

14 I looked them over and proceeded to tell the nobles, the leaders, and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and awe-inspiring the LORD is. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

15 When our enemies heard that we knew about their plots and that God had prevented their plans from being successful, we all went back to the work on the wall. Each person performed his own job.

16 From that day on, half of my men worked on the wall, and the other half were wearing body armor and holding spears, shields, and bows. The leaders stood behind all the Judeans

17 who were rebuilding the wall. The workers who were carrying loads did the work with one hand and held their weapons with the other,

18 and each builder had his sword fastened to his side. The man who was supposed to sound the trumpet alarm was with me.

19 I told the nobles, the leaders, and the rest of the people, "So much work has to be done in different places that we are widely separated from one another on the wall.

20 When you hear the trumpet, assemble around me. Our God will fight for us!"

21 So we continued to work. Half of us held spears from early dawn until the stars came out.

22 At that time I told the people, "Every man and his servant should stay overnight in Jerusalem so that we can set a guard at night and work during the day."

23 My brothers, my servants, and the guards assigned to me never changed their clothes. Neither did I. We each kept our weapons at hand.