Nehemiah · Brenton's English Septuagint
Nehemiah 4 Brenton's English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (2)
- Square brackets mark words Brenton supplied for English sense.
- Old Testament only (no New Testament). First printed 1844; the 1851 edition added the deuterocanonical books.
1 But it came to pass, when Sanaballat and Tobia, and the Arabians, and the Ammanites, heard that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was advancing, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, that it appeared very grievous to them.
1 But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
2 And all of them assembled together, to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to destroy it utterly.
2 He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?”
3 So we prayed to our God and set watchmen against them day and night, because of them.
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “What they are building, if a fox climbed up it, he would break down their stone wall.”
4 And Juda said, The strength of the enemies is broken, yet [there is] much rubbish, and we shall not be able to build the wall.
4 “Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity.
5 And they that afflicted us said, They shall not know, and they shall not see, until we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
5 Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”
6 And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.
6 So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7 So I set [men] in the lowest part of the place behind the wall in the lurking-places, I even set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;
8 And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the captains, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember our great and terrible God, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
8 and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion among us.
9 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was made known to us, and God had frustrated their counsel, that we all returned to the wall, [every] man to his work.
9 But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them.
10 And it came to pass from that day [that] half of them that had been driven forth, wrought the work, and half of them kept guard; and [there were] spears, and shields, and bows, and breast-plates, and rulers behind the whole house of Juda,
10 Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading and there is much rubble, so that we are not able to build the wall.”
11 even of them that were building the wall:—and those who carried the burdens [were] under arms: [each] with one hand wrought his work, and with the other held his dart.
11 Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in among them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”
12 And the builders [wrought] each man having his sword girt upon his loins, and so they built: and the trumpeter with his trumpet next to him.
12 When the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
13 And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work [is] great and abundant, and we are dispersed upon the wall, each at a great distance from his brother.
13 Therefore I set guards in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places. I set the people by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 In whatsoever place ye shall hear the sound of the cornet, thither gather yourselves together to us; and our God shall fight for us.
14 I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
15 So we [continued] labouring at the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.
15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
16 And at that time I said to the people, Lodge ye every man with his servant in the midst of Jerusalem, and let the night be a watch-time to you, and the day a work-time.
16 From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
17 And I was [there], and the watchmen behind me, and there was not a man of us that put off his garments.
17 Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other held his weapon. 18 Among the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me. 19 I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally there to us. Our God will fight for us.” 21 So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared. 22 Likewise at the same time I said to the people, “Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.” 23 So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.
Cross references (17)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Nehemiah 2:10; Hebrews 11:36; Psalm 35:15–16; Acts 5:17; Nehemiah 2:19
- 2 1 Corinthians 1:27; Ezra 4:9–10; Nehemiah 4:10; Zechariah 12:8; 1 Samuel 17:43–44
- 3 Nehemiah 2:19; Nehemiah 2:10; 1 Kings 20:10; 1 Kings 20:18; 2 Kings 18:23
- 4 Psalm 79:12; Psalm 123:3–4; Proverbs 3:34; Hosea 12:14; 1 Samuel 17:26
- 5 Psalm 109:14; Jeremiah 18:23; Psalm 69:27–28; Isaiah 44:22; 2 Timothy 4:14
- 6 Philippians 2:13; 1 Chronicles 29:3; Hebrews 13:21; Nehemiah 6:15; 1 Chronicles 29:17–18
- 7 Nehemiah 4:1; Nehemiah 2:10; Jeremiah 25:20; Amos 1:13; Revelation 12:17
- 8 Psalm 83:3–11; Jeremiah 20:10; Isaiah 8:9–10; Acts 23:12–13; Psalm 2:1–3
- 9 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 50:15; Acts 4:24–30; Matthew 26:41; Luke 6:11–12
- 10 Haggai 1:2; Numbers 32:9; 2 Chronicles 2:18; Numbers 13:31; Psalm 11:1–2
- 11 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Psalm 56:6; Judges 20:29–48; Acts 23:21; Acts 23:12
- 12 Numbers 14:22; Genesis 31:41; Genesis 31:7; Job 19:3
- 13 Nehemiah 4:17–18; Ephesians 6:11–20; Genesis 32:13–20; 2 Chronicles 32:2–8; Matthew 10:16
- 14 2 Samuel 10:12; Numbers 14:9; Isaiah 41:10–14; Hebrews 13:6; Psalm 66:3
- 15 2 Samuel 17:14; Romans 12:11; Psalm 33:10–11; Isaiah 44:25; Job 5:12–13
- 16 Nehemiah 4:23; Nehemiah 5:15–16; Psalm 101:6
- 17 2 Timothy 2:3; 2 Timothy 4:7; 2 Corinthians 6:7; Ephesians 6:11–20; 1 Corinthians 16:9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences