5. Don't hide your eyes from their guilt. Don't forgive their sins. They have made fun of the builders."
6. So we rebuilt the wall. We repaired it until all of it was half as high as we wanted it to be. The people worked with all their heart.
7. But Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Jerusalem's walls continued to be repaired. The Arabs and some people from Ammon heard the same thing. Some men from Ashdod heard about it too. They heard that the gaps in the wall were being filled in. So they burned with anger.
8. All of them made evil plans to come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stir up trouble against it.
9. But we prayed to our God. We put guards on duty day and night to watch out for danger.
10. During that time, the people in Judah spoke up. They said, "The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. Broken stones are piled up everywhere. They are in our way. So we can't rebuild the wall."
11. And our enemies said, "We will be right there among them. We'll kill them. We'll put an end to their work. We'll do it before they even know it or see us."
12. Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. They told us ten times, "No matter where you are, they'll attack us."