1 When Sanballat found out that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious—really mad! He made fun of the Jews 2 in front of his colleagues and the army of Samaria, saying, "What are these useless Jews trying to achieve? Do they think they can rebuild the wall? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Are they going to finish it in a day? Do they think they can re-use stones from piles of rubble and dirt, especially since they’ve all been burned?"
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, standing beside him, commented, "Even a fox walking on what they’re building would knock down their wall of stones!"
9 So we prayed to our God, and we had guards ready to defend against them day and night.
16 From then on, half of my men were doing the work while the other half were ready to fight, holding their spears, shields, bows, and armor. The leaders stood behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those carrying materials worked with one hand, holding a weapon in the other. 18 All the builders carried a sword strapped to their side, and the trumpeter stood beside me.4:18. To provide warning on an attack.
20 Wherever you are and you hear the sound of the trumpet, run to join us there. Our God will fight for us!"