Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
Parallel translations
- WEB But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
- BSB So we prayed to our God and posted a guard against them day and night.
- NKJV Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
- NASB But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.
- NLT But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect 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
Nehemiah and the people respond to the threat by both praying and posting a watch. They trust God while taking practical precautions.
Overview
This verse models the balance of faith and diligence: "we made our prayer" and "set a watch." Dependence on God does not cancel responsible action, nor does effort replace prayer. This wisdom anticipates the gospel pattern of resting wholly in Christ's finished work while laboring faithfully in His strength.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
- Ps 50:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
- Acts 4:24–30And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
- Luke 21:36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
- Luke 6:11–12And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
- Matt 26:41Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
- Gen 32:28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
- 2 Kgs 19:14–19And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
- Neh 4:11And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
- Ps 55:16–22As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
- Gen 32:9–12And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:9 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.