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Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became greatly enraged. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 In the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria. He said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of burnt rubble?” 3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was alongside him, said, “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stone!”
4 “Hear us, O our God, for we are despised.
Return their insults on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.
5 Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted from Your sight, for they have hurled insults at the builders.”
6 So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall came together and was raised to half its finished height, for the hearts of the people were set for the work.
7 But when Sanballat, Tabiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs to the walls of Jerusalem had gone ahead and the breaches closed, they were very angry. 8 They all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to create confusion in it. 9 But we prayed to our God, and stationed a guard day and night because of their threats.
10 In the meantime, in Judah it was said:
“The strength of the labourers is failing
There is so much rubble
that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 And our enemies said, “Before they know or see anything, we will be right there among them. Then we will kill them and force the work to stop.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will come and attack us.”
13 So I stationed men behind the lowest sections of the wall at the exposed places. I stationed people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.
16 From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work, while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armour. The officers positioned themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The workers carrying materials carried their load with one hand and held a weapon with the other hand. 18 As for the builders, each one had his sword strapped at his side as he built, while the man who sounded the trumpet stayed beside me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we laboured at the work, with half of the men holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can stand guard by night and work by day.” 23 So neither I, my brothers, my men, or the guards with me ever took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when he went for water.