5. Do not hide their guilt. Do not take away their sins so you can’t see them. The builders have seen them make you angry.”
6. So we rebuilt the wall until all of it went halfway up. The people were willing to work hard.
7. But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men from Ashdod were very angry. They heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls were continuing. And they heard that the holes in the wall were being closed.
8. So they all made plans against Jerusalem. They planned to come and fight and stir up trouble.
9. But we prayed to our God. And we appointed guards to watch for them day and night.
10. The people of Judah said, “The workers are getting tired. There is too much dirt and trash. We cannot rebuild the wall.”
11. And our enemies said, “The Jews won’t know it or see us. But we will come among them and kill them. We will stop the work.”