And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
Parallel translations
- WEB Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading, and there is much rubble; so that we are not able to build the wall.”
- BSB Meanwhile, the people of Judah said: “The strength of the laborer fails, and there is so much rubble that we will never be able to rebuild the wall.”
- NKJV Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
- NASB And so in Judah it was said: “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubble; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall.”
- NLT Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Judah grows discouraged: the laborers are exhausted, the rubble is overwhelming, and the work feels impossible. Internal weariness threatens the project as much as external enemies.
Overview
Halfway through the task, the people's strength fails amid heaps of debris and a still-unfinished wall. Discouragement is a real and common danger in God's work, often arising when difficulty mounts and progress feels slow. Such moments call God's people to renewed reliance on the One who supplies strength to the weary (Isaiah 40:29-31).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Hag 1:2Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.
- 2 Chr 2:18And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
- Num 13:31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
- Ps 11:1–2In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
- Num 32:9For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
- Ezek 29:18Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it:
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 4:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.