So I came to Jerusalem. ¹  When I had been there for three days,

So we worked on, ¹  with half ²  holding spears, from dawn till dusk. ³ 

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in just fifty-two days.

So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy. ¹ 

I continued up the valley during the night, inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and came to the Valley Gate, and so returned.

So I purified them of everything foreign, and I assigned specific ¹  duties to the priests and the Levites.

and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined ¹  and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.”

So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. ¹  The people were enthusiastic in their work. ² 

Zanoah, Adullam and their settlements, in Lachish and its fields, and in Azekah and its villages. So they were encamped from Beer Sheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them ¹  both day and night.

Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers ¹  has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions. ¹ 

He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I ¹  would be discredited. ² 

So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places. ¹  I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows.

“So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy ¹  its good things – we are slaves!

So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.

who were rebuilding the wall. ¹  Those who were carrying loads did so ²  by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon.

So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in ¹  an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”

You have also established prophets to announce ¹  in Jerusalem ²  on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.” ³ 

So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly ¹  about all the schemes ²  they were plotting ³  against us.