Nehemia 4:16-23

4:16 From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, ¹  shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people ²  of Judah 4:17 who were rebuilding the wall. ³  Those who were carrying loads did so ⁴  by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon. 4:18 The builders to a man had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter ⁵  remained with me.

4:19 I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding ⁶  and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another. 4:20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”

4:21 So we worked on, ⁷  with half ⁸  holding spears, from dawn till dusk. ⁹  4:22 At that time I instructed ¹⁰  the people, “Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day. 4:23 We did not change clothes ¹¹  – not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water. ¹² 

[4:16]  ¹ tc The MT reads “and spears.” The conjunction should be deleted.

[4:16]  ² tn Heb “all the house.”

[4:17]  ³ tn The first words of v. 17, “who were rebuilding the wall,” should be taken with the latter part of v. 16.

[4:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “were carrying loads.” The LXX reads ἐν ὅπλοις (en hoplois, “with weapons”).

[4:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one blowing the shophar.”

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “much.”

[4:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and we were doing the work.”

[4:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “half of them.”

[4:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the coming up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.”

[4:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “said [to].”

[4:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “strip off our garments.”

[4:23]  ¹² tc Heb “a man, his weapon, the waters.” The MT, if in fact it is correct, is elliptical and difficult. Some scholars emend the MT reading הַמָּיִם (hammayim, “the waters”) to בִּמִנוֹ (bimino, “in his right hand”; cf. NAB, NRSV) or מִינוּ(י)הֵ (heminu, “they held on the right side”).