A reading from the book of Nehemiah.

Now when Sanball had heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged,

and he jeered at the Jews, and he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria,

what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?

Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive

the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burned ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him,

and he said, yes, what they are building. If a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone

wall. Here, O our God, for we are despised, turn back their taunt on their own heads

and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt,

and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the

presence of the builders. So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half

its height, for the people

had a mind to work. But when Sanballad and Tobaya and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashtadites

heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward, and that the breaches were

beginning to be closed, they were very angry, and they all plotted together to come and fight against

Jerusalem, and to cause confusion in it.

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them, day and night.

In Judah, it was said, The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.

There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.

And our enemy said, they will not know

or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.

At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times,

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