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Nehemiah
Chapter Four
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Nehemiah 4:1. But
it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he
was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
YLT And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard that we are
building the wall, that it is displeasing to him, and he is very angry and
mocketh at the Jews,
But it came to
pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall,....
Or were building it; for
as yet it was not finished, see Nehemiah 4:6,
he was wroth,
and took great indignation;
inwardly, though outwardly
he pretended to treat the work with contempt, as if it never would be
accomplished, which yet he feared:
and mocked the
Jews;
as a set of foolish
builders, and unable to finish what they had begun.
Nehemiah 4:2.
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 offer sacrifices? Will they
complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones
that are burned?”
YLT and saith before his brethren and the force of Samaria, yea, he
saith, `What [are] the weak Jews doing? are they left to themselves? do they
sacrifice? do they complete in a day? do they revive the stones out of the
heaps of the rubbish? -- and they burnt!'
And he spake
before his brethren,....
Tobiah the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arabian, and perhaps some other governors of the king of Persia in
those parts:
and before the
army of Samaria:
which, and the inhabitants
of it, were implacable enemies of the Jews:
and said, what
do these feeble Jews?
what do they pretend to
do, or what can they do?
will they
fortify themselves?
by building a wall about
their city; can they think they shall ever be able to do this, or that it will
be allowed?
will they
sacrifice?
meaning not their daily
sacrifice, as Jarchi, that they had done a long time, but for the dedication of
their building, as Aben Ezra:
will they make
an end in a day?
they seem to be in as
great a hurry and haste as if they meant it; and indeed, unless they can do it
very quickly, they never will: they will soon be stopped:
will they
revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burnt?
where will they find
materials? do they imagine that they can make burnt stones firm and strong
again, or harden the dust and rubbish into stones, or make that, which is as if
dead, alive? to do this is the same as to revive a dead man, and they may as
well think of doing the one as the other; burnt stones being reckoned as dead,
as Eben Ezra observes.
Nehemiah 4:3.
Now Tobiah the
Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a
fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”
YLT And Tobiah the Ammonite [is] by him and saith, `Also, that which
they are building -- if a fox doth go up, then it hath broken down their stone
wall.'
Now Tobiah the
Ammonite was by him,....
Who was one of his
brethren he spake before, Nehemiah 4:2,
and he said;
in the like contemptuous
and scoffing manner:
even that which
they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall;
signifying not only that
it was so low that a fox could easily get up to it, or leap over it; but that
the materials were so bad, and the work so poorly done, that the weight of a
fox would break it down; of which creatures many were thereabout, since
Jerusalem was desolate, see Lamentations 5:18.
Nehemiah 4:4.
Hear, O our
God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them
as plunder to a land of captivity!
YLT Hear, O our God, for we have been despised; and turn back their
reproach on their own head, and give them for a spoil in a land of captivity;
Hear, O our
God, for we are despised,....
Here begins the prayer of
Nehemiah, who had been informed of what these men said in contempt of him, and
his builders, and to whom he sent no answer, but applied to God:
and turn their
reproach upon their own head;
as they have despised and
reproached us, let them be despised and reproached by their neighbours:
give them for a
prey in the land of captivity;
let them be carried
captive, as we have been, and become a prey and booty to their enemies.
Nehemiah 4:5.
Do not cover
their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for
they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
YLT and do not cover over their iniquity, and their sin from before
Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger -- over-against
those building.
And cover not
their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee,....
Let it not go unpunished,
and even let it not be pardoned; which is spoken, not from a private spirit of
revenge, but from a public spirit for the glory of God, and his justice; and
not as a mere imprecation, but as a prophecy of what would be the case, in like
manner as many of David's petitions in the Psalms; and for this there was a
good foundation, since God had threatened the Moabites and Ammonites with utter
destruction:
for they have
provoked thee to anger before the builders;
by despising his people,
and mocking at the work the Lord had called them to; and this they did
publicly, and on purpose to discourage the workmen.
Nehemiah 4:6.
So we built the
wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for
the people had a mind to work.
YLT And we build the wall, and all the wall is joined -- unto its
half, and the people have a heart to work.
So built we the
wall,....
Went on in building it,
notwithstanding their scoffs and threats:
and all the
wall was joined together unto the half thereof;
it was carried all round
the city to half the height of it:
for the people
had a mind to work;
their heart was in it,
they had a good will to it, and they made haste to finish it.
Nehemiah 4:7.
Now it
happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites
heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were
beginning to be closed, that they became very angry,
YLT And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard, and Tobiah, and
the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that lengthening hath gone
up to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breeches have begun to be stopped, then
it is very displeasing to them,
And it came to
pass that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians,....
Who were under and
influenced by Geshem the Arabian:
and the
Ammonites;
over whom Tobiah was
governor:
and the
Ashdodites;
who were of Ashdod or
Azotus, one of the principalities of the Philistines, who were always enemies
to the Jews:
heard that the
walls of Jerusalem were made up;
or "the length of
them went up"F4עלתה ארוכה "ascendisset longitudo", Montanus; so
Coeceius in rad. ארך. ; that is, the height of them;
that they rose up high apace, and were got up to, or almost to their proper
height:
and that the
breaches began to be stopped;
for the walls were not all
thrown down by the Chaldeans, but breaches made here and there, which were now
repaired:
then they were
very wroth;
and could not avoid
showing it; before they mocked them, as attempting what they could not go
through with; but now, perceiving the work went on with great success, they
were enraged.
Nehemiah 4:8.
and all of them
conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.
YLT and they conspire, all of them together, to come in to fight
against Jerusalem, and to do to it injury.
And conspired
all of them together,....
All the above men and
people entered into a confederacy and combination:
to come and to
fight against Jerusalem;
to bring an army with
them, and by force cause the Jews to desist; the JewsF5Pirke
Eliezer, c. 38. pretend they came to war, and brought with them an army of
180,000 men, which is not probable:
and to hinder
it;
the building of the walls
of it; or "to make a wandering for him"F6לעשות לו תועה
"ad faciendum ei errorem", Montanus; "ei aberrationem",
Genevenses; "vagationem et palationem", alii apud De Dieu. ; for
Nehemiah, or the people, or both, to, cause them to stray from their work, to
frighten them from it, that they might become like men at their wits end, not
knowing what to do, where to turn themselves, or what course to steer, but to
wander about as persons out of their senses; so Aben Ezra. De Dieu joins this
clause to the next verse, to cause everyone of them to wander, we prayed,
&c.
Nehemiah 4:9.
Nevertheless we
made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day
and night.
YLT And we pray unto our God, and appoint a watch against them, by day
and by night, because of them.
Nevertheless,
we made our prayer unto our God,....
Spread their case before
him in prayer, entreating direction and help from him:
and set a watch
against them day and night, because of them;
to give notice of their
approach, that they might prepare to defend themselves; though they prayed to
God, and trusted in him for deliverance, they did not neglect the use of means.
Nehemiah 4:10.
Then Judah
said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much
rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
YLT And Judah saith, `The power of the burden-bearers hath become
feeble, and the rubbish [is] abundant, and we are not able to build on the
wall.'
And Judah said,....
Several of the men of
Judah:
the strength of
the bearers of burdens is decayed;
through much labour, in
carrying heavy loads of stone and timber to the builders, and yet more through
fear of the enemy:
and there is
much rubbish;
which ought to be removed,
but that the labourers were so weak that they could not do it:
so that we are
not able to build the wall;
to finish it before the
enemy comes to attack us.
Nehemiah 4:11. And
our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come
into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
YLT And our adversaries say, `They do not know, nor see, till that we
come in to their midst, and have slain them, and caused the work to cease.'
And our
adversaries said, they shall not know,....
Our designs upon them:
neither see;
or perceive what we are
about to do:
till we come in
the midst of them;
with an army suddenly, at
an unawares, and unexpected:
and slay them;
they being unarmed, and
not prepared to defend themselves:
and cause the
work to cease;
as it must in course, the
builders being slain.
Nehemiah 4:12.
So it was, when
the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever
place you turn, they will be upon us.”
YLT And it cometh to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling
near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places whither ye return
-- [they are] against us.
Near Samaria, Arabia, and
Ashdod, and had intelligence of their designs:
came, they said
to us ten times;
that is, they came to them
at Jerusalem, and often told them, as this phrase "ten times"
signifies; see Gill on Genesis 31:7,
from all places
whence ye shall return unto us:
they will be upon you,
come which way you will, so that ye are in the utmost danger: or "from all
places"; where you are repairing and rebuilding:
return to us;
that ye may enjoy peace
and prosperity with us under Sanballat, &c. and escape the wrath and fury
you are now exposed to; or "from all places we come, that ye may return to
us"; so De Dieu; these Jews, though they pretended to be friends, to their
brethren, yet seemed to be in friendship with their enemies, and sought to
discourage them, and weaken their minds, and cause them to cease building.
Nehemiah 4:13.
Therefore I
positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and
I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears,
and their bows.
YLT And I appoint at the lowest of the places, at the back of the
wall, in the clear places, yea, I appoint the people, by their families, with
their swords, their spears, and their bows.
Therefore set I
in the lower places behind the wall,....
Where the wall was lowest,
and the enemy could more easily break it down, or get over it:
and on the
higher places;
where the wall was higher;
or rather on the towers upon the walls, as the word signifies the tops of
rocks, which are dry and smooth, see Ezekiel 24:2.
I even set the
people after their families;
according to their rank,
number, strength, and valour:
with their
swords, their spears, and their bows;
with weapons they could
use both near, and at a distance.
Nehemiah 4:14.
And I looked,
and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the
people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and
fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your
houses.”
YLT And I see, and rise up, and say unto the freemen, and unto the
prefects, and unto the rest of the people, `Be not afraid of them; the Lord,
the great and the fearful, remember ye, and fight for your brethren, your sons,
and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'
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 4:15.
And it
happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God
had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall,
everyone to his work.
YLT And it cometh to pass, when our enemies have heard that it hath
been known to us, and God doth frustrate their counsel, and we turn back, all
of us, unto the wall, each unto his work;
And it came to
pass, when our enemies heard it was known unto us,....
What they intended, as
might be reported to them from the preparations made by the Jews to receive
them, and defend themselves:
and God had
brought their counsel to naught;
which was to come upon
them secretly and unawares; but being discovered, they dropped their design,
and their scheme came to nothing:
so that we
returned all of us to the wall, every man to his work;
to that part of it where
he wrought, in order to finish it.
Nehemiah 4:16.
So it was, from
that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the
other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and
the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.
YLT yea, it cometh to pass, from that day, half of my servants are
working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of both the spears,
the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the heads [are] behind
all the house of Judah.
And it came to
pass from that time forth,....
That they were thus
alarmed of danger from their enemies:
that the half
of my servants wrought in the work;
of building the wall; his
domestic servants, his guards, or mighty men, as Jarchi, men of war, the
soldiers:
and the other
half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows;
some offensive, others
defensive weapons; some to fight with at a distance, others near at hand:
and the
habergeons;
coats of mail, which they
took and clothed themselves with:
and the rulers
were behind all the house of Judah;
the Jews that were working
at the wall, to animate and encourage them, protect and defend them.
Nehemiah 4:17.
Those who built
on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one
hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.
YLT The builders on the wall, and the bearers of the burden, those
lading, [each] with one of his hands is working in the business, and one is
laying hold of the missile.
That laid the mortar and
stones upon it, and timber where it was necessary:
and they that
bore burdens;
that carried the mortar,
stones, and timber to the builders, and served them:
with those that
laded;
which prepared the above
for them, and laid them on their shoulders:
everyone with
one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon;
which is not to be
understood strictly and literally, for without both hands they could not well
perform either of the above works; but proverbially, signifying that they were
intent on both working and fighting, and were ready and prepared to do the
latter, as well as the former, having weapons lying by them, or girt about
them, as is explained in the following verse.
Nehemiah 4:18.
Every one of
the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who
sounded the trumpet was beside me.
YLT And the builders [are] each with his sword, girded on his loins,
and building, and he who is blowing with a trumpet [is] beside me.
For the
builders had everyone his sword girded by his side, and so builded,....
Thus accoutred he wrought,
and was prepared for either service:
and he that
sounded the trumpet was by me;
to give the alarm of war,
that everyone might lay aside his work, and prepare for the battle: this
officer stood by Nehemiah, that when he found it necessary, might give him
orders to sound his trumpet, for the men to gather to him.
Nehemiah 4:19.
Then I said to
the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great
and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
YLT And I say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the
rest of the people, `The work is abundant, and large, and we are separated on
the wall, far off one from another;
And I said unto
the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people,....
See Gill on Nehemiah 4:14,
the work is
great and large;
the building of the wall
all around the city of Jerusalem:
and we are
separated upon the wall one far from another;
some at work on one part
of it, and some at another, so that the distance between one another, at least
in the further part, was very considerable.
Nehemiah 4:20.
Wherever you
hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
YLT in the place that ye hear the voice of the trumpet thither ye are
gathered unto us; our God doth fight for us.'
In what place
therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet,....
Be it what part of the
wall soever they were at work, even the most distant:
resort ye
thither to us;
to Nehemiah, and the half
of his servants armed, where the trumpet was blown; that was to be the place of
rendezvous:
our God shall
fight for us;
and give us victory over
our enemies; none have any reason to be intimidated, when they shall hear the
sound of the trumpet.
Nehemiah 4:21. So
we labored in the work, and half of the men[a] held the
spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.
YLT And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping
hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn till the coming forth of the
stars.
So we laboured
in the work,....
Of building the wall: and
half of them held the spears; and other weapons before mentioned, Nehemiah 4:16
from the rising
of the morning till the stars appeared;
that is, from morning to
evening, the space of time the builders and labourers worked.
Nehemiah 4:22.
At the same
time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in
Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.”
YLT Also, at that time I said to the people, `Let each with his
servant lodge in the midst of Jerusalem, and they have been to us by night a guard,
and by day [for] the work:'
Likewise at the
same time said I unto the people,....
That were at work upon the
wall:
let everyone
with his servant lodge within Jerusalem;
every builder had a
servant, or a lad, as the word signifies, to wait upon him, to bring mortar or
stone, or what he wanted; and some of these builders, with their lads, came out
of the country towns and villages in the morning, and returned at night; now
Nehemiah proposed, for the safety of the city and its walls, that for the present
they would lodge in Jerusalem:
that in the
night they may be a guard unto us, and labour on the day;
might help to protect them
in the night, should they be surprised with the enemy, and be ready for their
work in the daytime.
Nehemiah 4:23.
So neither I,
my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our
clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
YLT and there are none -- I and my brethren and my servants, the men
of the guard who [are] after me -- there are none of us putting off our
garments, each [hath] his vessel of water.
So neither I,
nor my brethren,....
The nobles and rulers:
nor my servants;
his domestic servants that
waited upon him:
nor the men of
the guard which followed me;
his bodyguard, which
attended him as a commissioner of the king of Persia for state and grandeur:
none of us put
off our clothes;
at night when they laid
themselves down to sleep, but laid in, them, that they might be ready upon an
alarm made:
saving that
everyone put them off for washing;
not for common washing,
because dirty, but for washing on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which
required washing both of bodies and garments, see Leviticus 15:5,
&c. and the Vulgate Latin version expresses it by baptism, as the apostle
calls such ceremonial ablutions in Hebrews 6:2. It is
in the margin of our Bibles, "everyone went with his weapon for
water"; when he went to Siloam, or any other place, for water, he took a
weapon with him to defend himself upon occasion; which is no bad sense of the
words. NoldiusF7Ebr. Concord. Partic. p. 322. renders the words,
"everyone with his weapon (and) water"; both were at his bolster,
ready, if wanted, see 1 Samuel 26:11.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Nehemiah 4:21
Literally them