And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
Parallel translations
- WEB and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion among us.
- BSB and all of them conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem and create a hindrance.
- NKJV and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.
- NASB So all of them conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
- NLT They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.
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
The surrounding peoples form a united plot to attack Jerusalem and throw the builders into confusion. Opposition has escalated from mockery to a coordinated conspiracy.
Overview
Sanballat, Tobiah, and their allies move from ridicule (4:1-3) to active conspiracy as the wall rises. Their aim is not only military assault but to spread fear and disorder among the workers. This pattern of intensifying opposition against God's work reminds believers that faithful obedience often provokes resistance, and that God's purposes advance despite hostile schemes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ps 83:3–11They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
- Ps 2:1–3Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
- Acts 23:12–13And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
- Isa 8:9–10Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
- Jer 20:10For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
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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 4:8 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.