Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it(even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates),
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6So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. The people were enthusiastic in their work.
7(4:1) When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.
8All of them conspired together to move with armed forces against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it.
9So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them both day and night.
10Then those in Judah said,“The strength of the laborers has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”
11Our adversaries also boasted,“Before they are aware or anticipate anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
12So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly about all the schemes they were plotting against us.
2Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying,“Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.
3So I sent messengers to them saying,“I am engaged in an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”
4They contacted me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time.
5The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand.
6Written in it were the following words:“Among the nations it is rumored(and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king.
1Opposition to the Work Continues(3:33) Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews,
2and in the presence of his colleagues and the army of Samaria he said,“What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”
3Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said,“If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”
1When the wall had been rebuilt and I had positioned the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
12I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat.
13He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I would be discredited.
14Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs– also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were trying to scare me!
15The Rebuilding of the Wall Is Finally Completed So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in just fifty-two days.
16When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw this, they were greatly disheartened. They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
17In those days the aristocrats of Judah repeatedly sent letters to Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them.
15I continued up the valley during the night, inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and came to the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing, for up to this point I had not told any of the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the rest of the workers.
17Then I said to them,“You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”
18Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what the king had said to me. Then they replied,“Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” So they readied themselves for this good project.
19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said,“What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20I responded to them by saying,“The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.”
10When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard all this, they were very displeased that someone had come to seek benefit for the Israelites.
11Nehemiah Arrives in Jerusalem So I came to Jerusalem. When I had been there for three days,
15It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.
2Hanani, who was one of my relatives, along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.
3They said to me,“The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!”
3At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked,“Who gave you authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”
4They also asked them,“What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”
1The Names of the Builders Then Eliashib the high priest and his priestly colleagues arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and erected its doors, working as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.
18The builders to a man had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter remained with me.
19I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,“The work is demanding and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another.
1Opposition to the Building Efforts When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the LORD God of Israel,
16I gave myself to the work on this wall, without even purchasing a field. All my associates were gathered there for the work.
10Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. He said,“Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”
7and I returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the temple of God.
12Now let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.
13Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury will suffer loss.
3I said to them,“The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.”
4Now the city was spread out and large, and there were not a lot of people in it. At that time houses had not been rebuilt.
8Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.
9We inquired of those elders, asking them,‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’
6Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah worked on the Jeshanah Gate. They laid its beams and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
19They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said. Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare me.