Nehemiah 4:14

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."

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 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.