5. Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from before them. For they have bitterly offended the builders!
6. So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. The people were enthusiastic in their work.
7. (4:1) When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.
8. All of them conspired together to move with armed forces against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it.
9. So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them both day and night.
10. Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”
11. Our adversaries also boasted, “Before they are aware or anticipate anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
12. So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly about all the schemes they were plotting against us.
13. So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places. I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows.