Atlas Biblica

    Nehemiah · 23 verses

    Nehemiah 4

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    A fox is invited to destroy Jerusalem’s wall, while the builders answer the joke by carrying masonry in one hand and weapons in the other.

    A wall mocked, and still risingvv. 1–6

    Sanballat hears that the wall is being rebuilt and erupts into fury, making sport of the Jews before his associates and the army of Samaria. Tobiah adds the small, devastating image of a fox climbing onto the work and bringing it down. The builders answer neither speech nor fox directly: they pray, and then join the wall up to half its height, because the people have a mind to work.

    The plot meets a guardvv. 7–15

    When the gaps begin closing, Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites conspire to attack Jerusalem and create a hindrance. Prayer is paired with a guard, while the people of Judah grow weary beneath the rubble and the enemies boast of killing the builders before they know what is happening. Nearby Jews repeat their warning ten times over—a number supplied by the text and left there rather grandly unexplained. Nehemiah stations families at the vulnerable places with swords, spears, and bows, then the enemies hear that their scheme is known and the work resumes.

    Building with a weapon at handvv. 16–23

    From that day, the arrangement becomes wonderfully awkward. Half of Nehemiah’s servants work while the other half carry weapons; the laborers carry materials with one hand and a weapon with the other; every builder wears a sword at his side, and the trumpeter stays beside Nehemiah. The work stretches along the wall, so the horn is appointed to gather everyone wherever danger appears. Day work runs until the stars come out, nights are spent inside Jerusalem, and nobody changes clothes—not Nehemiah, nor his brothers, servants, or guards—even for the expedition to fetch water.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Neh 4:1Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews

    2. Neh 4:2before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”

    3. Neh 4:3Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

    4. Neh 4:4Hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn back upon their own heads, and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.

    5. Neh 4:5Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.

    6. Neh 4:6So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

    7. Neh 4:7When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious,

    8. Neh 4:8and all of them conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem and create a hindrance.

    9. Neh 4:9So we prayed to our God and posted a guard against them day and night.

    10. Neh 4:10Meanwhile, the people of Judah said: “The strength of the laborer fails, and there is so much rubble that we will never be able to rebuild the wall.”

    11. Neh 4:11And our enemies said, “Before they know or see a thing, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work.”

    12. Neh 4:12At that time the Jews who lived nearby came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

    13. Neh 4:13So I stationed men behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.

    14. Neh 4:14After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

    15. Neh 4:15When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall.

    16. Neh 4:16And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah

    17. Neh 4:17who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

    18. Neh 4:18And each of the builders worked with his sword strapped at his side. But the trumpeter stayed beside me.

    19. Neh 4:19Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “The work is great and extensive, and we are spread out far from one another along the wall.

    20. Neh 4:20Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

    21. Neh 4:21So we continued the work, while half of the men held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.

    22. Neh 4:22At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.”

    23. Neh 4:23So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the guards with me changed out of our clothes; each carried his weapon, even to go for water.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 183 passages were voted onto 22 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 142 Samuel 10:12Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
    • 14Numbers 14:9Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”
    • 14Isaiah 41:10–14Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
    • 14Hebrews 13:6So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
    • 20Exodus 14:14The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
    • 6Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
    • 91 Peter 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
    • 20Deuteronomy 1:30The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
    • 20Deuteronomy 20:4For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
    • 14Psalms 65:5With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
    • 14Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
    • 4Psalms 79:12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
    • 5Jeremiah 18:23But You, O LORD, know all their deadly plots against me. Do not wipe out their guilt or blot out their sin from Your sight. Let them be overthrown before You; deal with them in the time of Your anger.
    • 5Psalms 109:14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
    • 14Deuteronomy 1:21See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
    • 20Joshua 23:10One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.

    Onward

    Keep reading

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