Nehemiah’s Enemies Oppose the Rebuilding
1Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall. So he became very angry and upset. He made fun of the Jews. 2He spoke to his friends and the army of Samaria. He said, “What are those Jews trying to do? Can they make their city wall like new again? Will they offer sacrifices? Can they finish everything in a single day? The stones from their city wall and buildings are piled up like trash. And everything has been badly burned. Can they use those stones to rebuild everything again?”
3Tobiah from Ammon was at Sanballat’s side. He said, “What are they building? They’re putting up a stone wall. But suppose a fox climbs on top of it. Even that will break it down!”
4I prayed to God. I said, “Our God, please listen to our prayer. Some people hate us. They’re saying bad things about us. So let others say bad things about them. Let them be carried off like stolen goods. Let them be taken to another country as prisoners. 5Don’t hide your eyes from their guilt. Don’t forgive their sins. They have said bad things about the builders.”
6So we rebuilt the wall. We repaired it until all of it was half as high as we wanted it to be. The people worked with all their heart.
7But Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls continued to be repaired. The Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard about it too. They heard that the gaps in the wall were being filled in. So they were very angry. 8All of them made evil plans to come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stir up trouble against it. 9But we prayed to our God. We put guards on duty day and night to watch out for danger.
10During that time, the people in Judah spoke up. They said, “The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. Broken stones are piled up everywhere. They are in our way. So we can’t rebuild the wall.”
11And our enemies said, “We will be right there among them. We’ll kill them. We’ll put an end to their work. We’ll do it before they even know it or see us.”
12Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. They told us ten times, “No matter where you are, they’ll attack us.”
13So I stationed some people behind the lowest parts of the wall. That’s where our enemies could easily attack us. I stationed the people family by family. They had their swords, spears and bows with them. 14I looked things over. Then I stood up and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. I said, “Don’t be afraid of your enemies. Remember the Lord. He is great and powerful. So fight for your families. Fight for your sons and daughters. Fight for your wives and homes.”
15Our enemies heard that we knew what they were trying to do. They heard that God had blocked their evil plans. So all of us returned to the wall. Each of us did our own work.
16From that day on, half of my men did the work. The other half were given spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah. 17The people continued to build the wall. The people who carried supplies did their work with one hand. They held a weapon in the other hand. 18Each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who blew the trumpet stayed with me.
19Then I spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. I said, “This is a big job. It covers a lot of territory. We’re separated too far from one another along the wall. 20When you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us at that location. Our God will fight for us!”
21So we continued the work. Half of the men held spears. We worked from the first light of sunrise until the stars came out at night. 22At that time I also spoke to the people. I told them, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night. Then they can guard us at night. And they can work during the day.” 23My relatives and I didn’t take off our clothes. My men and the guards didn’t take theirs off either. Each man kept his weapon with him, even when he went to get water.
Se obstaculiza la reconstrucción
1Cuando Sambalat se enteró de que estábamos reconstruyendo la muralla, se enojó muchísimo y se burló de los judíos. 2Ante sus compañeros y el ejército de Samaria dijo:
—¿Qué están haciendo estos débiles judíos? ¿Creen que se les va a dejar que reconstruyan y que vuelvan a ofrecer sacrificios? ¿Piensan acaso terminar en un solo día? ¿Cómo creen que de esas piedras quemadas, de esos escombros, van a hacer algo nuevo?
3Y Tobías el amonita, que estaba junto a él, añadió:
—¡Hasta una zorra, si se sube a ese montón de piedras, lo echa abajo!
4Por eso oramos: «¡Escucha, Dios nuestro, cómo se burlan de nosotros! Haz que sus ofensas recaigan sobre ellos mismos: entrégalos a sus enemigos; ¡que los lleven en cautiverio! 5No pases por alto su maldad ni olvides sus pecados, porque provocan la ira de los que reconstruyen».
6Continuamos con la reconstrucción y levantamos la muralla hasta media altura, pues el pueblo trabajó con entusiasmo.
7Pero cuando Sambalat, Tobías y los árabes, los amonitas y los asdodeos se enteraron de que avanzaba la reconstrucción de la muralla y, que ya estábamos cerrando las brechas, se enojaron muchísimo 8y acordaron atacar a Jerusalén y provocar disturbios en ella. 9Oramos entonces a nuestro Dios y decidimos montar guardia día y noche para defendernos de ellos.
10Por su parte, la gente de Judá decía: «Los cargadores desfallecen, pues son muchos los escombros; ¡no vamos a poder reconstruir esta muralla!».
11Y nuestros enemigos maquinaban: «Les caeremos por sorpresa y los mataremos; así haremos que la obra se suspenda».
12Algunos de los judíos que vivían cerca de ellos venían hasta diez veces y nos advertían: «Los van a atacar por todos lados».
13Así que puse a la gente por familias, con sus espadas, lanzas y arcos, detrás de las murallas, en los lugares más vulnerables y desguarnecidos. 14Luego de examinar la situación, me levanté y dije a los nobles y oficiales, y al resto del pueblo: «¡No les tengan miedo! Acuérdense del Señor, que es grande y temible, y peleen por sus hermanos, por sus hijos e hijas, y por sus esposas y sus hogares».
15Una vez que nuestros enemigos se dieron cuenta de que conocíamos sus intenciones y de que Dios había frustrado sus planes, todos regresamos a la muralla, cada uno a su trabajo.
16A partir de aquel día la mitad de mi gente trabajaba en la obra, mientras la otra mitad permanecía armada con lanzas, escudos, arcos y corazas. Los oficiales estaban pendientes de toda la gente de Judá. 17Tanto los que reconstruían la muralla como los que acarreaban los materiales hacían su trabajo con una mano y con la otra sostenían un arma. 18Todos los que trabajaban en la reconstrucción llevaban la espada a la cintura. A mi lado estaba el encargado de dar el toque de alarma con la trompeta.
19Yo había dicho a los nobles, a los gobernantes y al resto del pueblo: «La tarea es grande y extensa, y nosotros estamos muy esparcidos en la muralla, distantes los unos de los otros. 20Por eso, en el lugar donde oigan el toque de la trompeta, cerremos filas. ¡Nuestro Dios peleará por nosotros!».
21Así que, desde el amanecer hasta que aparecían las estrellas, mientras trabajábamos en la obra, la mitad de la gente montaba guardia con lanza en mano.
22En aquella ocasión también dije a la gente: «Todos ustedes, incluso los ayudantes, quédense en Jerusalén para que en la noche sirvan de centinelas y de día trabajen en la obra». 23Ni yo ni mis parientes y ayudantes, ni los de mi guardia personal, nos desvestíamos para nada: cada uno llevaba su arma, incluso cuando iba a buscar agua.
