Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”

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.

There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, ¹  in addition to those who came to us from the nations ²  all around us.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, ¹  they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. ¹  It is we who have been in the wrong!

Even I and my relatives ¹  and my associates ²  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ³ 

It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, ¹  God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.

All of them were wanting ¹  to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.” So now, strengthen my hands! ² 

Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit, ¹  and we are in great distress!

I responded to them by saying, “The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. ¹  But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.” ² 

At that time I instructed ¹  the people, “Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day.

When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw ¹  this, they were greatly disheartened. ²  They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

“So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ¹  – do not regard as inconsequential ²  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. ¹  He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”

Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim ¹  in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.

There were those who said, “With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain ¹  grain in order to eat and stay alive.”

Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”

Isn’t this the way your ancestors ¹  acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!”

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 

We did not change clothes ¹  – not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water. ²