Nehemiah 4:7-15

7Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arab people, the Ammonites and the people who came from Ashdod all heard that the work was continuing. They could see that we were repairing the holes in the wall. So they were very angry.

8They met together to decide what they should do. They decided to attack Jerusalem so that there would be trouble.

9So we continued to pray to our God. We also put guards on the walls in the day and the night, to keep the city safe.

10Then the people in Judah complained, ‘Our workers are becoming weak. There are so many stones and rubbish! We cannot finish the work on the wall!’

11At the same time, our enemies were boasting, ‘Before the Jews even see us, we will attack them. We will kill them before they know what is happening. That will be the end of their work on the wall!’

12The Jews who lived near our enemies warned us many times. They told us that our enemies would attack us wherever we went.

13So I put some men behind the lowest part of the wall where there were holes. Each of the families had guards with swords, spears, bows and arrows.

14I went round the city and I looked at everything. I said to the leaders, the officers and the people, ‘Do not be afraid of our enemies. Remember that our Lord God is great and powerful. Fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters and your wives. Fight to keep your homes safe.’

15Our enemies realized that we knew what they had decided to do. God had stopped them from doing what they wanted. So each of us went back to our work on the wall.