18. I told them that my God had taken care of me, and also told them what the king had said to me."Let’s start rebuilding!" they said, and they eagerly began the work.
19. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and made fun of us. "What are you doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
20. "The God of heaven will give us success!" I replied. "As God’s servants, we will start building. But you will have no share, right, or claim in Jerusalem."