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Nehemiah 4:8

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Nehemiah 4:8 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.
Nehemiah 4:8 — American Standard Version

Context — Nehemiah 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
5and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked [thee] to anger before the builders.
6So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half [the height] thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
7But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth;
8and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.
9But we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
11And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And conspired all of them together, etc.] All the above men and people entered into a confederacy and combination: to come and to fight against Jerusalem; to bring an army with them, and by force cause the Jews to desist; the Jews f28 pretend they came to war, and brought with them an army of 180,000 men, which is not probable: and to hinder it; the building of the walls of it; or “to make a wandering for him” f29; for Nehemiah, or the people, or both, to, cause them to stray from their work, to frighten them from it, that they might become like men at their wits end, not knowing what to do, where to turn themselves, or what course to steer, but to wander about as persons out of their…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“all: Psa 2:1-3, Psa 83:3-11; Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10; Act 23:12, Act 23:13 hinder it: Heb. make an error to it, Jer 20:10 Nehemiah 4:9”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification