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4:1  When Sanballat heard we were rebuilding the wall, he was very angry, even furious. He ·made fun of [mocked; ridiculed] the Jewish people.
4:2  He said to his ·friends [colleagues; L brothers] and ·those with power in [or the army/aristocracy of] Samaria, “What are these ·weak [feeble; pathetic] Jews doing? Will they ·rebuild the wall [or leave it all to God]? Will they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in one day? Can they ·bring stones back to life from piles of trash and ashes [revive stones from piles of rubble—burnt stones at that]?”
4:3  Tobiah the Ammonite, who was ·next to Sanballat [L beside him], said, “If a fox climbed up on the stone wall they are building, it would break it down.”
4:4  I prayed, “Hear us, our God. We are ·hated [despised]. Turn the ·insults [taunts; sneers] of Sanballat and Tobiah back on their own heads. ·Let them be captured and stolen like valuables [Send them as plunder to a land of exile].
4:5  Do not ·hide [cover; ignore] their guilt or ·take away [blot out] their sins so that you can’t see them, because they have ·insulted [deeply offended; or demoralized] the builders.”
4:6  So we rebuilt [L and connected/joined together] the wall to half its height, because the people were ·willing to [enthusiastic in their; L had a heart to] work.
4:7  But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod were very angry when they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls were continuing and that the ·holes [gaps; breaches] in the wall were being closed.
4:8  So they all made plans to come to Jerusalem and fight and ·stir up trouble [cause confusion/a disturbance].
4:9  But we prayed to our God and appointed guards ·to watch for [L against] them day and night.
4:10  The people of Judah said, “The ·workers are getting tired [strength of the laborers is failing]. There is so much ·trash [debris; rubble] we cannot rebuild the wall.”
4:11  And our enemies said, “·The Jews [L They] won’t know or see anything until we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”
4:12  Then the Jewish people who lived near our enemies came and ·told [warned] us repeatedly [L ten times], “·Everywhere you turn [From every direction], the enemy will attack us.”
4:13  So I ·put [stationed] people behind the lowest places along the wall—the ·open [exposed] places—and I ·put families together [stationed people by families] with their swords, spears, and bows.
4:14  ·Then I looked around and [After an inspection, I] stood up and said to the ·important men [nobles], the ·leaders [officials], and the rest of the people: “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and ·powerful [awesome; glorious]. Fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
4:15  Then our enemies heard that we knew about their plans and that God had ·ruined [frustrated; thwarted] their plans. So we all went back to the wall, each to his own work.
4:16  From that day on, half my people worked on the wall. The other half was ready with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The ·officers [leaders] stood in back of the ·people [L house] of Judah
4:17  who were building the wall. Those who carried ·materials [loads] did their work with one hand and carried a weapon with the other.
4:18  Each builder wore his sword at his side as he ·worked [built]. The trumpeter [C to signal an attack] stayed next to me.
4:19  Then I said to the ·important people [nobles], the ·leaders [officials], and everyone else, “This is ·a very big job [demanding work]. We are spread out along the wall so that we are far apart.
4:20  Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, ·assemble there [rally to us here]. Our God will fight for us.”
4:21  So we continued to work with half the men holding spears from ·sunrise [dawn] till the stars came out.
4:22  At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his ·helper [servant] stay inside Jerusalem at night. They can be our guards at night and workmen during the day.”
4:23  Neither I, my ·brothers [colleagues], my ·workers [servants], nor the guards with me ever ·took off [changed] our clothes. Each person carried his weapon even when he went for water.