Nehemiah 4:16
New International Version
From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah

New Living Translation
But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah

English Standard Version
From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah,

Berean Standard Bible
And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah

King James Bible
And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

New King James Version
So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.

New American Standard Bible
And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.

NASB 1995
From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

NASB 1977
And it came about from that day on, that half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

Legacy Standard Bible
And it happened that from that day on, half of my young men carried on the work while half of them took hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah.

Amplified Bible
From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

Christian Standard Bible
From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah,

American Standard Version
And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And half of the young men from that day, and more than half of the people they made workers and half of them were holding spears and shields and bows and breastplates, and the workers stood behind the Jews and were building the wall.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass from that day that half of them that had been driven forth, wrought the work, and half of them kept guard; and there were spears, and shields, and bows, and breast-plates, and rulers behind the whole house of Juda,

Contemporary English Version
From then on, I let half of the young men work while the other half stood guard. They wore armor and had spears and shields, as well as bows and arrows. The leaders helped the workers

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it came to pass from that day forward, that half of their young men did the work, and half were ready for to fight, with spears, and shields, and bows, and coats of mail, and the rulers were behind them in all the house of Juda.

English Revised Version
And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
From that day on, half of my men worked on the wall, and the other half were wearing body armor and holding spears, shields, and bows. The leaders stood behind all the Judeans

Good News Translation
From then on half of my men worked and half stood guard, wearing coats of armor and armed with spears, shields, and bows. And our leaders gave their full support to the people

International Standard Version
From that day on, half of my helpers engaged in the work while the other half kept spears, shields, bows, and armor ready. The senior officials backed all of the Judeans

JPS Tanakh 1917
And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

Literal Standard Version
indeed, it comes to pass, from that day, half of my servants are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the heads [are] behind all the house of Judah.

Majority Standard Bible
And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah

New American Bible
From that time on, however, only half my work force took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah

NET Bible
From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people of Judah

New Revised Standard Version
From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor; and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah,

New Heart English Bible
It happened from that time forth that half of my servants would do the work and half of them held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the body armor; and the rulers stood behind the whole house of Judah

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

World English Bible
From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

Young's Literal Translation
yea, it cometh to pass, from that day, half of my servants are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the heads are behind all the house of Judah.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Discouragement Overcome
15When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall. 16And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah 17who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.…

Cross References
Nehemiah 4:15
When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall.

Nehemiah 4:17
who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

Jeremiah 46:4
Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!


Treasury of Scripture

And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants worked in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

my servants

Nehemiah 4:23
So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.

Nehemiah 5:15,16
But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God…

Psalm 101:6
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

Jump to Previous
Bows Breastplates Captains Carried Coats Construction Forth Habergeons Half Held House Judah Leaders Mail Rulers Servants Shields Spears Time Work Worked Wrought
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Bows Breastplates Captains Carried Coats Construction Forth Habergeons Half Held House Judah Leaders Mail Rulers Servants Shields Spears Time Work Worked Wrought
Nehemiah 4
1. While the enemies scoff, Nehemiah prays and continues the work
7. Understanding the wrath and secrets of the enemy, he sets a watch
13. He arms the laborers
19. and gives military precepts














(16) My servants.--The building was resumed with special precautions, very minutely described. "Nehemiah's own servants" are distinguished from "all the house of Judah." The former were divided into two parties, one of which wrought on the work still unfinished and the other held their weapons.

Habergeons are coats of mail or corselets, thin plates of metal sewn upon leather.

The rulers were behind--Ready to lead the defence, if necessary.

Verse 16. - The half of my servants wrought in the work. Nehemiah divided his "servants" or slaves into two bodies, one of which laboured at the wall, while the other kept guard, fully armed, and held the spears, bows and arrows, shields, and corselets of their fellows. The rulers were behind. The "rulers" or "princes" did not labour, but stood behind the labourers, directing them, and ready to lead them on if the enemy ventured to come to blows.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And
וַיְהִ֣י ׀ (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

that
הַה֗וּא (ha·hū)
Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

day on,
הַיּ֣וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

half
חֲצִ֣י (ḥă·ṣî)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2677: The half, middle

of my men
נְעָרַי֮ (nə·‘ā·ray)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5288: A boy, lad, youth, retainer

did
עֹשִׂ֣ים (‘ō·śîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make

the work
בַּמְּלָאכָה֒ (bam·mə·lā·ḵāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4399: Deputyship, ministry, employment, work, property

while the other half
וְחֶצְיָ֗ם (wə·ḥeṣ·yām)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 2677: The half, middle

held
מַחֲזִיקִים֙ (ma·ḥă·zî·qîm)
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer

spears,
וְהָרְמָחִ֣ים (wə·hā·rə·mā·ḥîm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 7420: A lance, the iron point

shields,
הַמָּגִנִּ֔ים (ham·mā·ḡin·nîm)
Article | Noun - common plural
Strong's 4043: A shield, a protector, the scaly hide of the crocodile

bows,
וְהַקְּשָׁת֖וֹת (wə·haq·qə·šā·ṯō·wṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 7198: A bow, for, shooting, the iris

and armor.
וְהַשִּׁרְיֹנִ֑ים (wə·haš·šir·yō·nîm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8302: Body armor

The officers
וְהַ֨שָּׂרִ֔ים (wə·haś·śā·rîm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince

[stationed themselves] behind
אַחֲרֵ֖י (’a·ḥă·rê)
Preposition
Strong's 310: The hind or following part

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the people
בֵּ֥ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Judah
יְהוּדָֽה׃ (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites


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OT History: Nehemiah 4:16 It happened from that time forth that (Neh Ne)
Nehemiah 4:15
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