Nehemiah 4:11

Nehemiah 4:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And our enemies said, "They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”

Context of Nehemiah 4:11

9But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. 10Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” 12Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” 13Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.

Nehemiah 4:11 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ צָרֵ֗ינוּ לֹ֤א יֵדְעוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א יִרְא֔וּ עַ֛ד אֲשֶׁר־נָב֥וֹא אֶל־תּוֹכָ֖ם וַהֲרַגְנ֑וּם וְהִשְׁבַּ֖תְנוּ אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And our adversariesצַרtsar tsâr · enemyH6862
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• They shall not knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• neither seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• till we comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• them, and slayהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• them, and cause the workמְלָאכָהmelâ'kâh · workH4399
• to ceaseשָׁבַתshâbath · to ceaseH7673

Cross-references for Nehemiah 4:11

• Judges 20:29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah.
• 2 Samuel 17:2I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king
• Psalms 56:6They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life.
• Isaiah 47:11Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.
• Acts 23:12The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 4:11

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-15Verses 7-15 The hindering good work is what bad men aim at, and promise themselves success in; but good work is God's work, and it shall prosper. God has many ways of bringing to light, and so of bringing to nought, the devices and designs of his church's enemies. If our enemies cannot frighten us from duty, or deceive us into sin, they cannot hurt us. Nehemiah put himself and his cause under the Divine protection. It was the way of this good man, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11The constant psychological attacks from Israel's enemies were lowering morale.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-237-21. But ... when Sanballat ... heard that the walls ... were made up, and ... the breaches ... stopped--The rapid progress of the fortifications, despite all their predictions to the contrary, goaded the Samaritans to frenzy. So they, dreading danger from the growing greatness of the Jews, formed a conspiracy to surprise them, demolish their works, and disperse or intimidate the builders. The plot being discovered, Nehemiah adopted the most energetic…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Armour
• Sanballat
• Ammon; Ammonites
• Esdras, the First Book of

Commentaries on Nehemiah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings