1But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and indignant; and mocked the Jews. 2And he spoke before his associates 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 restore the stones from the heaps of rubbish, burned as they are?” 3Now Tobiah, the Ammonite, was at his side and said, “What they are building, if even a fox should climb it, it would break down their stone wall.” 4Then I (Nehemiah) prayed: “Hear, O our God; for we are despised. Turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as prey in a land of captivity. 5And do not forgive their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.” 6So we built the wall; and it was reconstructed up to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.

7But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the restoration of the wall of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry, 8And they all conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder the work. 9But we prayed unto our God, and posted a guard against them day and night. 10And the leaders of Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we are not able to build the wall.” 11And our adversaries said, “They shall not realize that we are among them until we kill them, and stop this work.” 12Then the Jews who lived by them came, and told us ten times (repeatedly), “They will come from all directions and attack you.” 13So I stationed men with swords, spears, and bows behind the wall in the lower places, posting the people according to their families. 14And when I saw their fear, I stood up, and told the nobles, rulers, and the rest of the people, “Be not afraid of them. Remember the LORD, Who is great and awe-inspiring; and fight to defend your brothers, sons, daughters, wives, and your houses.”

15And when our enemies heard that we knew their plot, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, we were all able to return to the wall, everyone to his work. 16And from that time forth, half of the people did the work, while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the officers were behind all the house of Judah. 17Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens; they all worked with one hand, and held a weapon with the other hand. 18All the builders had his sword strapped to his side, as they built. And the trumpeter to call the troops stayed by me. 19And I told the nobles, rulers, and to the rest of the people, “The work is extensive, and we are spread out along the wall, far from each other. 20Whenever you hear the trumpet, rush to wherever it sounds. Our God shall fight for us.” 21So we carried on the work; and half of them held weapons from sunrise until the stars appeared. 22At that time I told the people, “Let everyone, with his helper, stay inside Jerusalem at night, so that they may serve as guards at night, and work in the day.” 23So neither I, nor my brothers, my servants, nor those who guarded us - none of us took off our clothes, except for washing.