So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Parallel translations
- WEB So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height: for the people had a mind to work.
- KJV So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
- NKJV So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
- NASB So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
- NLT At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.
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
Despite the opposition, the wall is joined together to half its height because the people had a mind to work. Wholehearted commitment overcomes discouragement.
Overview
In the face of mockery and threats, the builders press on until the entire wall reaches half its height, for "the people had a mind to work." Their willing, united determination, combined with Nehemiah's leadership and prayer, yields steady progress. The verse celebrates the fruit of faith expressed in diligent labor, showing that God advances His work through the wholehearted devotion of His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Phil 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Neh 6:15So the wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth of Elul.
- 1 Chr 29:3Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:
- Heb 13:21equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Chr 29:14But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
- 1 Chr 29:17–18I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.
- Ps 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
- 2 Cor 8:16–17But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.
- 2 Chr 29:36Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had prepared for the people, because everything had been accomplished so quickly.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:6 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.