Nehemiah 4:15

Neh 4:15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

Ver. 15. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard] This rumour was enough to frighten these no less now timorous than before temerarious Samaritans; great brags they made at first what they would do, but now that they see they are defeated of their purpose, they are crest fallen, and have no mind at all to advance. So that to these may be fitly applied that which Guicciardine saith of Charles VIII, king of France, in his expedition against Naples, that he came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff; more than a man at first, and less than a woman at last.

And God had brought their counsel to nought] According to that of the psalmist, "The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations," Psa 33:10-11. Here good men may learn, saith one, not to go nakedly, without weapons for their own necessary defence; and much less, said I, without their spiritual weapons, whether defensive, as the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, &c., or offensive, as the sword of the Spirit, the word, and the darts of prayer, lest they be surprised and subjugated by that old manslayer, Eph 6:13-18.

That we returned all of us to the wall] Not to the tavern, to toss pots, saith one, and boast of their great victory; but in the fear of God they return to the walls, and every man falleth to his work again. All histories declare that the greatest kingdoms, when they fell to idleness and luxury, then they lost their former glory faster than they won it. The Turkish Empire is thought to be on the declining hand, because their late emperors do far degenerate from their warlike progenitors, their soldiers generally give themselves to unwonted pleasures, their ancient discipline of war is neglected, rebellions raised, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh_4:15

Every one unto his work.

Specialty of work for each man

There is something beautiful to me in the thought that there is a specialty of work for each man. In work, as in character, disposition, history, and destiny, there is a specialty; and when the Church arises to the New Jerusalem, it will not be to sit there as one vast photographic likeness, nor shall one be able to say of its members, I have heard their history, when the story of one has been told. The history of the Church will be made up of individual histories; and each one shall possess its own peculiar interest. Your history will be none the less interesting when mine has been told, nor mine when you have related yours. Your head and heart will not be as mine, nor mine as yours; we shall not be mere fragments of a universal Church; but we shall be fully, roundly, and conspicuously ourselves, in the Church of which we make a whole, and perfect, and unexampled individual. (H. W. Beecher.)

Every man at his place

In that fearful national catastrophe which befell England, i.e., the loss of the ironclad Victoria, the staunch steadfastness of our British sailors was grandly illustrated. When the crash came, instead of a wild rush on deck of all below, every man remained true to his post. All knew that a serious collision had occurred, yet the most perfect order was maintained. The engineers kept their eyes on the indicator and moved their levers as directed, in spite of the fact that their lives were in imminent danger. Even when it was seen that the vessel was settling down, and all were called on deck, the men ranged themselves in line, and the order, Right about face, was obeyed, though while in the act the vessel heeled over, and all were precipitated into the sea. Our personal duty:--The only way to regenerate the world is to do the duty which lies nearest to us, and not to hunt after grand, far-fetched ones for ourselves. If each drop of rain chose where it should fall, Gods showers would not fall as they do now on the evil and the good alike. (Charles Kingsley.)

Our own duty to be attended to

There is a story with which many of the present generation have been made familiar in our reading books which has an important application to Christian life. The story is that a German, with an ear sensitive to music, one day entered a church, and, being distressed by the discords of the singing, put his fingers in his ears; but there penetrated through them a single clear, rich soprano, singing in such perfect tune, that he was moved to listen. The singer never faltered because of the jarring notes, nor increased the volume of her voice to drown them. She kept steadily on till one after another came into accord with her sweet tones, till she brought the entire body of singers into harmony.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 4:15. When our enemies heard that it was known unto us — When they heard that their plot was discovered, and they had no hope to surprise us, but found that we were ready to receive them, they laid aside their designs, and we went on with our work.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus was the design of the enemy circumvented, and the Jews returned to their work on the wall, which they had forsaken to betake themselves to their weapons. The manner in which they resumed their building work was, that one half held weapons, and the other half laboured with weapons in hand.

Neh 4:15

When our enemies heard that it (their intention) was known to us, and (that) God had brought their counsel to nought (through the measures with which we had met it), we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work. The conclusion does not begin till ונּשׁוב, האל ויּפר belonging to the premiss, in continuation of נודא כּי.

Neh 4:16-18

From that day the half of my servants wrought at the work, and the other half of them held the spears and shields, the bows and the armour, i.e., carried the arms. The servants of Nehemiah are his personal retinue, Neh 4:17, Neh 5:10, Neh 5:16, namely, Jews placed at his disposal as Pechah for official purposes. The ו before הרמחים was probably placed before this word, instead of before the המּגנּים following, by a clerical error; for if it stood before the latter also, it might be taken in the sense of et - et. מצזיקים, instead of being construed with בּ, is in the accusative, as also in Neh 4:11, and even in Jer 6:23 and Isa 41:9, Isa 41:13. Unnecessary and unsuitable is the conjecture of Bertheau, that the word בּרמחים originally stood after מצזיקים, and that a fresh sentence begins with והרמחים: and the other half held the spears; and the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the armour, and the rulers, were behind the whole house of Judah, - a strange combination, which places the weapons and rulers behind the house of Judah. Besides, of the circumstance of the weapons being placed behind the builders, so that they might at any moment seize them, we not only read nothing in the text; but in Neh 4:11 and Neh 4:12 just the contrary, viz., that the builders wrought with one hand, and with the other held a weapon. "The rulers were behind all the house of Judah," i.e., each was behind his own people who were employed on the work, to encourage them in their labour, and, in case of attack, to lead them against the enemy. - In Neh 4:11 בּחומה הבּונים is prefixed after the manner of a title. With respect to those who built the wall, both the bearers of burdens were lading with the one hand of each workman, and holding a weapon with the other, and the builders were building each with his sword girt on his side. The ו prefixed to הנּשׂאים and הבּנים means both; and בסּבל נשׂא, bearers of burdens, who cleared away the rubbish, and worked as labourers. These, at all events, could do their work with one hand, which would suffice for emptying rubbish into baskets, and for carrying material in handle baskets. ידו בּעחת, literally, with the one (namely) of his hands that was doing the work. The suffix of ידו points to the genitive following. ואחת אחת, the one and the other hand. השּׁלח, not a missile, but a weapon that was stretched out, held forth, usually a sword or some defensive weapon: see rem. on Jos 2:8; Ch2 32:5. The builders, on the contrary, needed both hands for their work: hence they had swords girt to their sides. "And he that sounded the trumpet was beside me." Nehemiah, as superintendent of the work, stood at the head of his servants, ready to ward off any attack; hence the trumpeter was beside him, to be able to give to those employed on the wall the signal for speedy muster in case danger should threaten.

Neh 4:19-21

Hence he said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, i.e., all employed in building, "The work is much (great) and wide, and we are separated upon the wall one far from another; in what place ye hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble yourselves to me: our God will fight for us." - In Neh 4:15 the whole is summed up, and for this purpose the matter of Neh 4:10 is briefly repeated, to unite with it the further statement that they so laboured from early morning till late in the evening. "We (Nehemiah and his servants) laboured in the work, and half of them (of the servants) held the spears from the grey of dawn till the stars appeared."

Neh 4:22

He took moreover, a further precaution: he said to the people (i.e., to the labourers on the wall, and not merely to the warriors of the community, as Bertheau supposes): Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, i.e., to remain together during the night also, and not be scattered through the surrounding district, "that they may be guardianship for us by night and labour by day." The abstracts, guardianship and labour, stand for the concretes, guards and labourers. As לנוּ, to us, refers to the whole community separated on the walls, so is ונערו אישׁ to be understood of all the workers, and not of the fighting men only. From ונערו אישׁ it only appears that the fathers of families and master builders had servants with them as labourers.

Neh 4:23

Nehemiah, moreover, and his brethren (his kinsmen and the members of his house), and his servants, and the men of the guard in his retinue, were constantly in their clothes ("not putting off our clothes" to rest). The last words, המּים שׁלחו אישׁ are very obscure, and give no tolerable sense, whether we explain המּים of water for drinking or washing. Luther translates, Every one left off washing; but the words, Every one's weapon was water, can never bear this sense. Roediger, in Gesen. Thes. s.v. שׁלח, seeks to alter המים into בידו, to which Bttcher (N. krit. Aehrenl. iii. p. 219) rightly objects: "how could בידו have been altered into המּים, or המּים have got into the text at all, if some portion of it had not been originally there? What this בידו expresses, would be far more definitely given with the very slight correction of changing the closing ם of המּים, and reading המינו = המינוּ (comp. Sa2 14:19); thus each had taken his missile on the right (in his right hand), naturally that he might be ready to discharge it in case of a hostile attack." This conjecture seems to us a happy emendation of the unmeaning text, since נוּ might easily have been changed into ם; and we only differ in this matter from Bttcher, by taking שׁלח in its only legitimate meaning of weapon, and translating the words: And each laid his weapon on the right, viz., when he laid himself down at night to rest in his clothes, to be ready for fighting at the first signal from the watch.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

4:15 Nehemiah gave the credit to God (see also 2:20; 6:16), who had frustrated them through the prayers of the people, the 24-hour patrol, the open display of force, and the confidence in God’s protection.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Their counsel to naught] The word counsel used here countenances the emendation in the 12th verse.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) We returned.—This verse remarkably condenses the frustration of the attempt and the cessation of the special guard.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Success of Nehemiah’s precautions.

our enemies] a different word in the original from that rendered ‘adversaries’ in Neh_4:11.

that it was known unto us] i.e. their project of a sudden attack.

God had brought their counsel to nought] i.e. through the precautionary measures taken by Nehemiah. The words ‘brought their counsel to nought’ are the same as those rendered ‘frustrate their purpose’ in Ezr_4:5.

we returned … work] This clause implies what is not definitely stated. The enemy, on hearing that Nehemiah was prepared to meet their attack, seem to have abandoned their intention of an immediate assault. Nehemiah and his companions were able to resume the work upon the wall, although precautions were still necessary.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard it was known unto us,.... What they intended, as might be reported to them from the preparations made by the Jews to receive them, and defend themselves:

and God had brought their counsel to naught; which was to come upon them secretly and unawares; but being discovered, they dropped their design, and their scheme came to nothing:

so that we returned all of us to the wall, every man to his work; to that part of it where he wrought, in order to finish it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Our enemies being frustrated in their hopes, which were wholly built upon the secrecy and suddenness of their attempt, we knowing this, returned to our business.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. God had brought their counsel to nought — Observe the doctrine of Providence here. The betrayal of the enemies’ designs, and the preparations for defence, though all wrought out by human instrumentalities, are attributed to God.

We returned all of us to the wall — That is, as is immediately explained, every one unto his work. For a time they merely watched, and stood in readiness to resist the enemy that proposed to assail them unawares, (Neh_4:11;) but now they return to their work again, not, however, without some change in their manner of procedure, as the next verse tells.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It came about

"It happened that"

their plans were known to us

This can be stated in active form. AT: "we knew about their plans" (See: Active or Passive)

my servants worked

"my young men worked"

half of my servants ... half of them

"Half" means one part out of two equal parts. (See: Fractions)

the leaders stood behind all the people

"the leaders positioned themselves behind all the people"

translationWords

adversary

know

God

works

servant

spear

shield

bow and arrow

armor

people group

kingdom of Judah

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.