1 Sanballat heard we fix the wall. He got very mad and made fun of the Jews. 2 Sanballat talked to his group and the army of Samaria. He said the Jews are weak and cannot fix the wall fast. ️ 3 Tobiah stood by him. He said the wall is so weak a fox can break it. 4 Nehemiah prayed, “God, please hear us. They are mean to us. Make their bad talk come back to them.” 5 Nehemiah said, “They did wrong. Do not say their wrong is okay, God.” 6 We built the wall to half high. The people wanted to work. 7 Sanballat, Tobiah, Arabs, Ammonites, and people of Ashdod heard the gaps were fixed. They got very mad. 8 They made a plan to come fight the city and stop the work. ⚔️ 9 We prayed to God and set people to watch day and night. 10 The people of Judah said, “We are tired. There is so much trash. We cannot keep building.” 11 The bad men said, “We will come quiet. We will hurt them and stop the work.” ⚔️ 12 Jews who lived near them came many times. They said, “They will come from all sides.” ♂️♀️⬅️➡️⬆️⬇️ 13 So I, Nehemiah, put families by the low and open places. They held swords, spears, and bows. ️️ 14 I looked and said, “Do not be scared. Remember God is big and strong. Fight for your family.” 15 Our bad men heard we knew their plan, and God stopped it. We went back to the wall and worked. 16 From then on, half worked, and half held spears, shields, and bows. The bosses stood behind the people. ️ 17 The workers carried loads. With one hand they worked, and with the other hand they held a sword. ✋️ 18 Each builder had a sword at his side. The man with the trumpet stood by Nehemiah. ️ 19 I told the bosses and all the people, “This work is big. We are far from each other.” 20 I said, “When you hear the trumpet, come to us. Our God will fight for us.” ➡️ 21 We worked hard. Half held spears from sunrise to night. ️⭐ 22 I said, “Stay in the city at night with your helpers. Watch at night and work in the day.” ️ 23 I, my brothers, my helpers, and my guards kept our clothes on. We only took them off to wash. ⏰