Nehemiah 4:10

Nehemiah 4:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
• New International Version (NIV)Meanwhile, 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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)In Judah it was said, "The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall."
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”

Context of Nehemiah 4:10

8and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 9Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.” 11And 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.” 12So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

Nehemiah 4:10 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֗ה כָּשַׁל֙ כֹּ֣חַ הַסַּבָּ֔ל וְהֶעָפָ֖ר הַרְבֵּ֑ה וַאֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙ לֹ֣א נוּכַ֔ל לִבְנ֖וֹת בַּחוֹמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• The strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
• of the bearers of burdensסַבָּלsabbâl · burdenH5449
• is decayedכָּשַׁלkâshal · to stumbleH3782
• muchרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• rubbishעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• so that we are not ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346

Cross-references for Nehemiah 4:10

• Numbers 13:31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”
• Numbers 32:9For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them.
• Psalms 11:1In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
• Haggai 1:2“Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ”
• 2 Chronicles 2:18And he made seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.
• Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 4:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed - They worked both day and night, scarcely ever putting off their clothes, except for the purpose of being washed, Nehemiah 4:21, Nehemiah 4:23. Much rubbish - The ruins they were obliged to clear away, before they could dig the foundation for a new wall: and in this labor they were nearly exhausted; see Nehemiah 5:15.Read the comment
• 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
• 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

• Judah
• Armour
• Sanballat
• Ammon; Ammonites
• Decay
• 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