Nehemiah 4:16
14 After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall.
And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah
17 who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.
18 And each of the builders worked with his sword strapped at his side. But the trumpeter stayed beside me.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah
- KJV
- And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
- WEB
- From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
- ASV
- And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
- DARBY
- And from that time forth the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the corslets; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.
- BLB
- And it came to pass from that day, [that] half of my servants worked at the construction, and half held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the armor. And the leaders [were] behind all the house of Judah.
- ÅB
- Fra den dag arbeidet bare den ene halvdel av mine unge menn på verket, mens den andre halvdel av dem sto der med sine spyd, skjold, buer og brynjer, og høvdingene sto bakenfor hele Judas folk.
- OTB
- Fra den dagen av arbeidet halvparten av mine menn på konstruksjonen, mens den andre halvparten var utstyrt med spyd, skjold, buer og rustning. Offiserene stilte seg bak hele folket i Juda.
- B1930
- Fra den dag arbeidet bare den ene halvdel av mine unge menn på verket, mens den andre halvdel av dem stod der med sine spyd, skjold, buer og brynjer, og høvdingene stod bakenfor hele Judas folk.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Nehemiah 4:23
So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the guards with me changed out of our clothes; each carried his weapon, even to go for water.
Read in contextNehemiah 5:15–16
The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.
Read in contextPsalms 101:6
My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.
Read in context