Nehemiah 4:22
in Nehemiah 4At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.
KJV
Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.
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This verse in Nehemiah 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLet every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem - The country people were accustomed, after their day’s labor, to return to their families; now being so formidably threatened, he obliged them all to sleep in Jerusalem, that they might be ready, in case of attack, to help their brethren. All this man’s arrangements were wise and judicious.
This site's exposition
until the stars came out
on Nehemiah 4:21-23
Nehemiah orders every man and servant to "spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day" (4:22). He keeps the rule he sets: neither he nor his guards changed their clothes, and "each carried his weapon, even to go for water."
This site's exposition
spend the night inside Jerusalem
Clarke notes that builders from the country towns usually went home to their families at night. The order kept every man and his servant in the city. Clarke adds that they were then ready to help their brothers in case of attack.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
2 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?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Likewise at the same time said I unto the people,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let every one ... lodge within Jerusalem - i. e. Let none return to his own village or city at night, but let all take their rest in Jerusalem.”
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּ֣ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בָּעֵ֤ת | baet | at the time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| הַהִיא֙ | hahi' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אָמַ֣רְתִּי | ʾamarti | I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָעָ֔ם | laam | to the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְנַעֲר֔וֹ | venaaro | and servant his | H5288 → | 239 times |
| יָלִ֖ינוּ | yalinu | let them spend [the] night | H3885 → | 84 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְהָֽיוּ־ | vehayu- | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָ֧נוּ | lanu | for us | ||
| הַלַּ֛יְלָה | halaylah | the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| מִשְׁמָ֖ר | mishmar | a guard | H4929 → | 22 times |
| וְהַיּ֥וֹם | vehaiyom | and the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מְלָאכָֽה׃ | melakhah | work | H4399 → | 167 times |
גַּ֣םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
בָּעֵ֤תat the time
baetH6256 →296 times
הַהִיא֙<the> that
hahi'H1931 →1879 times
אָמַ֣רְתִּיI said
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
לָעָ֔םto the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
אִ֣ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְנַעֲר֔וֹand servant his
venaaroH5288 →239 times
יָלִ֖ינוּlet them spend [the] night
yalinuH3885 →84 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin [the] midst of
betokhH8432 →418 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וְהָֽיוּ־and they will be
vehayu-H1961 →3559 times
לָ֧נוּfor us
lanu
הַלַּ֛יְלָהthe night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
מִשְׁמָ֖רa guard
mishmarH4929 →22 times
וְהַיּ֥וֹםand the day
vehaiyomH3117 →2304 times
מְלָאכָֽה׃work
melakhahH4399 →167 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Nehemiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.