Nehemiah 4:15

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records the immediate aftermath of Nehemiah’s address to the nobles, officials, and people regarding their defense. The text states that the opposing forces recognized the Israelites’ vigilance and God’s intervention, causing every worker to resume his assigned task on the wall.

The words — וַ/יָּ֥פֶר (va/i.Ya.fer) means “he had frustrated” or “broken in pieces,” while נ֣וֹדַֽע (No.da') translates as “it was known” or “made known.” These verbs mark the precise moment when concealed hostility meets revealed divine obstruction.

The thread — The motif of God disrupting human plans appears in Job 5:12 and 2 Samuel 17:14, where crafty counsel is thwarted. The call to persistent labor under pressure aligns with the instruction in Romans 12:11 to maintain fervor in service.

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to distinguish between human threat and divine action before resuming work. It demands immediate, unafraid obedience to assigned duties when opposition is neutralized.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיְהִ֞יva/y.Hiand/ it was כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־ka./'a.Sher-just/ when שָׁמְע֤וּsha.me.'Uthey heard אוֹיְבֵ֙ינוּ֙'oy.Vei./nuenemies/ our כִּי־ki-that נ֣וֹדַֽעNo.da'it was knownלָ֔נוּLa./nuto/ usוַיָּ֥פֶרva/i.Ya.ferand/ he had frustrated הָאֱלֹהִ֖יםha./'E.lo.Him<the>/ God אֶת־'et-<obj.>עֲצָתָ֑ם'a.tza.Ta/mpurpose/ their וַנָּ֤שָׁבva./na.shuvand/ we returned כֻּלָּ֙נוּ֙ku.La./nuall of/ us אֶל־'el-to הַ֣חוֹמָ֔הha./cho.Mahthe/ wall אִ֖ישׁ'isheach one אֶל־'el-to מְלַאכְתּֽוֹ׃me.lakh.T/owork/ his

King James Version

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 17:14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
Romans 12:11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Job 5:12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
Psalms 33:10 The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
Isaiah 44:25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
2 Samuel 15:31 Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
Isaiah 8:10 Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”
Lamentations 3:37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Mark 13:34 It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.