5 and do not cover over their iniquity, and their sin from before Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger -- over-against those building.
The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered unto Jehovah, And the sin of his mother is not blotted out.
And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known, All their counsel against me `is' for death, Thou dost not cover over their iniquity, Nor their sin from before Thee blottest out, And they are made to stumble before Thee, In the time of Thine anger work against them!
Give punishment for their iniquity, And they enter not into Thy righteousness. They are blotted out of the book of life, And with the righteous are not written.
I -- I `am' He who is blotting out Thy transgressions for Mine own sake, And thy sins I do not remember.
And Thou, Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel, Awake to inspect all the nations. Favour not any treacherous dealers of iniquity. Selah. They turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And go round about the city. Lo, they belch out with their mouths, Swords `are' in their lips, for `Who heareth?' And Thou, O Jehovah dost laugh at them, Thou dost mock at all the nations. O my Strength, unto Thee I take heed, For God `is' my tower -- the God of my kindness. God doth go before me, He causeth me to look on mine enemies. Slay them not, lest my people forget, Shake them by Thy strength, And bring them down, O Lord our shield. The sin of their mouth `is' a word of their lips, And they are captured in their pride, And from the curse and lying they recount. Consume in fury, consume and they are not, And they know that God is ruling in Jacob, To the ends of the earth. Selah.
And Eliakim saith -- and Shebna and Joah -- unto Rabshakeh, `Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants `in' Aramaean, for we are understanding; and do not speak unto us `in' Jewish, in the ears of the people who `are' on the wall.' And Rabshakeh saith, `Unto thy lord, and unto thee, hath my lord sent me to speak these words? is it not for the men -- those sitting on the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water with you?'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Nehemiah 4
Commentary on Nehemiah 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Ne 4:1-6. While the Enemies Scoff, Nehemiah Prays to God, and Continues the Work.
1. when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth—The Samaritan faction showed their bitter animosity to the Jews on discovering the systematic design of refortifying Jerusalem. Their opposition was confined at first to scoffs and insults, in heaping which the governors made themselves conspicuous, and circulated all sorts of disparaging reflections that might increase the feelings of hatred and contempt for them in their own party. The weakness of the Jews in respect of wealth and numbers, the absurdity of their purpose apparently to reconstruct the walls and celebrate the feast of dedication in one day, the idea of raising the walls on their old foundations, as well as using the charred and mouldering debris of the ruins as the materials for the restored buildings, and the hope of such a parapet as they could raise being capable of serving as a fortress of defense—these all afforded fertile subjects of hostile ridicule.
3. if a fox go up—The foxes were mentioned because they were known to infest in great numbers the ruined and desolate places in the mount and city of Zion (La 5:18).
4, 5. Hear, O our God; for we are despised—The imprecations invoked here may seem harsh, cruel, and vindictive; but it must be remembered that Nehemiah and his friends regarded those Samaritan leaders as enemies to the cause of God and His people, and therefore as deserving to be visited with heavy judgments. The prayer, therefore, is to be considered as emanating from hearts in which neither hatred, revenge, nor any inferior passion, but a pious and patriotic zeal for the glory of God and the success of His cause, held the ascendant sway.
6. all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof—The whole circuit of the wall had been distributed in sections to various companies of the people, and was completed to the half of the intended height.
Ne 4:7-23. He Sets a Watch.
7-21. 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 measures for ensuring the common safety, as well as the uninterrupted building of the walls. Hitherto the governor, for the sake of despatch, had set all his attendants and guards on the work—now half of them were withdrawn to be constantly in arms. The workmen labored with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other; and as, in so large a circuit, they were far removed from each other, Nehemiah (who was night and day on the spot, and, by his pious exhortations and example, animated the minds of his people) kept a trumpeter by his side, so that, on any intelligence of a surprise being brought to him, an alarm might be immediately sounded, and assistance rendered to the most distant detachment of their brethren. By these vigilant precautions, the counsels of the enemy were defeated, and the work was carried on apace. God, when He has important public work to do, never fails to raise up instruments for accomplishing it, and in the person of Nehemiah, who, to great natural acuteness and energy added fervent piety and heroic devotion, He provided a leader, whose high qualities fitted him for the demands of the crisis. Nehemiah's vigilance anticipated every difficulty, his prudent measures defeated every obstruction, and with astonishing rapidity this Jerusalem was made again "a city fortified."