Nehemiah 6:15-Nehemiah 7:4 - The Wall Is Completed

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth [day] of [the month] Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶ When all our enemies heard about it, and all the [Gentile] nations around us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

¹⁷ Moreover, in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹ Also, they were speaking about Tobiah’s good deeds in my presence, and reporting to him what I said. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

¹ Now when the wall had been rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites had been appointed, ² I put my brother Hanani, with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for Hananiah was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many [of the others]. ³ I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while the watchmen are still standing guard, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, each at his post [on the wall], and each in front of his own house.”

⁴ Now the city was spacious and large, but there were few people in it and the houses had not [yet] been built.