Nehemiah 4:7-9

The enemies of the *Jews heard that their insults had not succeeded. The *Jews had not stopped the work, but, instead, they had worked very hard. And the wall had reached half of its final height.

So Sanballat and his friends were very angry. They needed another plan. These enemies lived all round Jerusalem. So they plotted to fight against the city. The city’s defences were not yet complete. So, Sanballat and his friends decided to carry out a sudden attack. Such an attack would frighten the *Jews. And it would confuse them. So they would be unable to continue the task.

Nehemiah and his people did the sensible thing again. They prayed to God. And they also guarded the city.

v10 But at that time the people in *Judah began to complain. They said, ‘The people who carry materials are getting very tired. There is so much rubbish in our way. We will never finish the construction of the wall.’

v11 Meanwhile, our enemies said, ‘We will go among the *Jews. They will not know what is happening. They will not even see us. We will kill them and stop the work.’

v12 Then the *Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. They spoke to us many times. They said, ‘Wherever we go, our enemies will attack us.’

v13 So I placed some men behind the lowest parts of the wall at the open places. I placed people in the same family together. They had swords, *spears and bows. v14 I looked round. Then I stood up and I spoke to the chief men, the officials and the rest of the people. I said, ‘Do not be afraid of our enemies. Remember that the *Lord is great and powerful. Fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters. Fight for your wives and your homes.’