Nehemiah:4

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* But it so happened , when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall , that he was furious and very indignant , and mocked the Jews . * 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 ?" * 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 ." * 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 ! * 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 . * 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 . * 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 , * and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion . * Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God , and because of them we set a watch against them day and night . * 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 ." * 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 ." * 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 ." * 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 . * 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 ." * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * 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 . * Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet , rally to us there . Our God will fight for us ." * So we labored in the work , and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared . * 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 ." * 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 .

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