| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. | 1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, |
| 2And 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?” | 2saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” |
| 3Now 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.” | 3Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” |
| 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! | 4Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! |
| 5Do 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. | 5Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.” |
| 6So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. | 6At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. |
| 7Now 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, | 7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. |
| 8and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. | 8They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. |
| 9Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. | 9But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. |
| 10Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.” | 10Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.” |
| 11And 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.” | 11Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.” |
| 12So 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.” | 12The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!” |
| 13Therefore 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. | 13So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. |
| 14And 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.” | 14Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” |
| 15And 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. | 15When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. |
| 16So 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. | 16But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah |
| 17Those 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. | 17who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. |
| 18Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. | 18All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm. |
| 19Then 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. | 19Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. |
| 20Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” | 20When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!” |
| 21So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. | 21We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard. |
| 22At 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.” | 22I also told everyone living outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help with guard duty at night and work during the day. |
| 23So 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. | 23During this time, none of us—not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me—ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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