The Work Ridiculed
Nehemiah 4:2
In 11 translations
- BSB
- before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”Or Will they commit themselves to God?
- KJV
- And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?fortify…: Heb. leave to themselves
- WEB
- He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?”
- ASV
- And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?
- LSV
- and says before his brothers and the force of Samaria, indeed, he says, “What [are] the weak Jews doing? Are they left to themselves? Do they sacrifice? Do they complete in a day? Do they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish—and they are burned?”
- YLT
- and saith before his brethren and the force of Samaria, yea, he saith, 'What [are] the weak Jews doing? are they left to themselves? do they sacrifice? do they complete in a day? do they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish? — and they burnt!'
- DBY
- And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? shall they be permitted to go on? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, when they are burned?
- DRC
- And said before his brethren, and the multitude of the Samaritans: What are the silly Jews doing? Will the Gentiles let them alone? will they sacrifice and make an end in a day? are they able to raise stones out of the heaps of the rubbish, which are burnt?
- GNV
- And sayde before his brethren and the armie of Samaria, thus he sayde, What doe these weake Iewes? wil they fortifie them selues? wil they sacrifice? will they finish it in a day? will they make the stones whole againe out of the heapes of dust, seeing they are burnt?
- JPS3:34
- And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said: 'What do these feeble Jews? will they restore at will? will they sacrifice? will they make an end this day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?'
- LXXE
- And he said before his brethren (that is the army of the Samaritans) Is it true that these Jews are building their city? do they indeed offer sacrifices? will they prevail? and will they this day restore the stones, after they have been burnt and made a heap of rubbish?
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Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.
Original-language editions
- WLC3:34
- וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ לִפְנֵ֣י אֶחָ֗יו וְחֵיל֙ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מָ֛ה הַיְּהוּדִ֥ים הָאֲמֵלָלִ֖ים עֹשִׂ֑ים הֲיַעַזְב֨וּ לָהֶ֤ם הֲיִזְבָּ֨חוּ֙ הַיְכַלּ֣וּ בַיּ֔וֹם הַיְחַיּ֧וּ אֶת־הָאֲבָנִ֛ים מֵעֲרֵמ֥וֹת הֶעָפָ֖ר וְהֵ֥מָּה שְׂרוּפֽוֹת׃KJV:Neh.4.2
- LXX-Br13:34
- Καὶ εἶπεν ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ, αὕτη ἡ δύναμις Σομόρων, ὅτι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι οὗτοι οἰκοδομοῦσι τὴν ἑαυτῶν πόλιν; ἆρα θυσιάζουσιν; ἆρα δυνήσονται; καὶ σήμερον ἰάσονται τοὺς λίθους, μετὰ τὸ χῶμα γενέσθαι γῆς καυθέντας;
Who and where
People, places and events the Theographic dataset links to this verse.
In the reference works topics that cite this verse
SanballatRevive; RevivingFortressesAmmon; AmmonitesSamaria, ModernSarcasmArmourContemptHeapInfluence
From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).
Cross-references most cited first
- 1 Corinthians 1:27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- Ezra 4:9–10From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, and the rest of the peoples whom the great and…
- Nehemiah 4:10Meanwhile, the people of Judah said: “The strength of the laborer fails, and there is so much rubble that we will never be able to rebuild the wall.”
- 1 Samuel 17:43–44“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the…
- Ezekiel 37:3–13Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.” And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is…
- Zechariah 12:8On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.
- Habakkuk 3:2O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!
- 1 Samuel 14:11–12So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!” So the men of the outpost called out to Jonathan and his…
- Nehemiah 12:27At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and…
- Nehemiah 12:43On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.
From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).
Verse numbering differs between Bibles
- 3:34 in some Bibles
- 4:2 in most Bibles