Nehemiah 4:6
in Nehemiah 4So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half the height thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
KJV
So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFor the people had a mind to work - The original is very emphatic: ויהי לב לעם לעשות vayehi leb leam laasoth, “For the people had a heart to work.” Their hearts were engaged in it; and where the heart is engaged, the work of God goes on well. The whole of this 6th verse is omitted by the Septuagint.
This site's exposition
had a mind to work
The narrator gives the reason in a phrase found nowhere else in Scripture: "the people had a mind to work" (4:6). Clarke renders the Hebrew more literally as a heart to work, the will engaged behind the labor of the hands. The builders go on after three verses of scorn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. 10 And 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
So built we the wall,.... Went on in building it, notwithstanding their scoffs and threats: and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; it was carried all round the city to half the height of it: for the people had a mind to work; their heart was in it, they had a good will to it, and they made haste to finish it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof--The whole circuit of the wall had been distributed in sections to various companies of the people, and was completed to the half of the intended height.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Unto the half thereof - i. e. to half the intended height.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַנִּבְנֶה֙ | vanivneh | and we rebuilt | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| וַתִּקָּשֵׁ֥ר | vatikasher | and it was joined together | H7194 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַחוֹמָ֖ה | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| חֶצְיָ֑הּ | chetzyah | middle its | H2677 → | 125 times |
| וַיְהִ֧י | vayhi | and it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לֵ֦ב | lev | a heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| לָעָ֖ם | laam | to the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ פ | laasot | to work | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַנִּבְנֶה֙and we rebuilt
vanivnehH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַ֣חוֹמָ֔הthe wall
hachomahH2346 →133 times
וַתִּקָּשֵׁ֥רand it was joined together
vatikasherH7194 →
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַחוֹמָ֖הthe wall
hachomahH2346 →133 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
חֶצְיָ֑הּmiddle its
chetzyahH2677 →125 times
וַיְהִ֧יand it belonged
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
לֵ֦בa heart
levH3820 →595 times
לָעָ֖םto the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ פto work
laasotH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 13:21
equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Romans 9:16
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Through
Hebrews 13:21equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:17
encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Philippians 2:13
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.