Oposição à reconstrução
1Sanbalate ficou irritadíssimo quando se deu conta de que estávamos a reconstruir as muralhas da cidade; encheu-se de raiva e insultou-nos. 2O mesmo fizeram os seus amigos, assim como os oficiais do exército samaritano: “O que é que este desprezível punhado de judeus pretende fazer? Pensarão eles que podem reconstruir as muralhas num só dia? Oferecerão eles sacrifícios? Vejam aqueles montões de pedras queimadas! Serão eles capazes de as pôr como novas?”
3Tobias, atrás deles, acrescentou: “Basta uma raposa andar ali por cima e aquilo vem tudo abaixo!”
4Então eu orei assim:
“Ouve-nos, ó nosso Deus, pois esta gente despreza-nos. Que a sua troça recaia sobre as suas cabeças e se tornem cativos numa terra estranha! 5Não te esqueças do seu pecado; não o ignores; é a ti que insultam, quando dizem isto de nós, que estamos a levantar estas muralhas.”
6O trabalho chegou, por fim, a metade da altura dos muros em toda a volta da cidade, porque toda a gente trabalhou duramente e com grande dedicação.
7Quando Sanbalate, Tobias, os árabes, os amonitas e os asdoditas verificaram que a obra progredia bem e que as brechas iam sendo tapadas, ficaram muito irados. 8Chegaram mesmo a pôr a hipótese de enviar um exército contra Jerusalém e suscitar tumultos e confusão. 9Contudo, nós orámos ao nosso Deus e pusemos guardas à cidade, de dia e de noite, para nos protegermos.
10O povo de Judá começou a queixar-se que os operários estavam a ficar cansados, no meio de imensa terra e pó, que achávamos que não poderíamos trabalhar sem auxílio exterior. 11Ao mesmo tempo, os nossos inimigos planeavam cair sobre nós repentinamente e matar-nos, terminando de vez com a obra.
12Mas os judeus que habitavam no meio deles vieram várias vezes avisar-nos de que os nossos inimigos viriam atacar-nos por todos os lados. 13Coloquei, por isso, guardas armados de cada família, em espaços abertos, por detrás das muralhas.
14Fiz então o ponto da situação. Convoquei os líderes e o povo e disse-lhes: “Não estejam com medo! Lembrem-se do Senhor, que é grande e glorioso! Combatam pelos vossos irmãos, pelas vossas famílias e pelos vossos lares!”
15Os inimigos perceberam que tínhamos conhecimento dos seus planos e que fora Deus quem tinha feito descobrir e frustrar esses intentos; assim, pudemos regressar ao trabalho. 16A partir daí, metade trabalhava e a outra metade estava de guarda, atrás. 17Os pedreiros e os outros operários trabalhavam com as suas armas ali perto, ao alcance rápido da mão; 18outros trabalhavam com as espadas presas à cintura; aquele que tocava a trombeta mantinha-se ao meu lado, para dar o alarme logo que fosse preciso.
19“A obra é muito extensa”, expliquei-lhes, “e estamos separados uns dos outros. 20Quando ouvirem tocar a trombeta, corram para aqui, onde eu estou, e Deus lutará por nós.”
21Trabalhávamos do nascer do sol até as estrelas aparecerem no céu; metade dos homens estavam sempre de guarda. 22Disse a todos os que moravam fora da cidade para se mudarem para o interior de Jerusalém, de forma que os seus criados pudessem ficar de sentinela à noite, e ajudar na obra de dia. 23Durante esse tempo, nenhum de nós, nem eu, nem os meus irmãos, nem os meus servos ou qualquer dos guardas que estavam comigo, ninguém tirou sequer a roupa que trazia vestida. Também trazíamos sempre as armas connosco.
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.
