Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in among them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”
Parallel Translations
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Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in among them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”
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And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
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(4-5) And our adversaries said: 'They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.'
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Nehemiah 4:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 20:29-48 Israel set ambushes all around Gibeah. The children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. The children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel. The children of Benjamin said, “They are struck down before us, as at the first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let’s flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.” All the men of Israel rose up out of their place and set themselves in array at Baal Tamar. Then the ambushers of Israel broke out of their place, even out of Maareh Geba. Ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came over against Gibeah, and the battle was severe; but they didn’t know that disaster was close to them. Yahweh struck Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men. All these drew the sword. So the children of Benjamin saw that they were struck, for the men of Israel yielded to Benjamin because they trusted the ambushers whom they had set against Gibeah. The ambushers hurried, and rushed on Gibeah; then the ambushers spread out, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city. The men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, “Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.” But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the whole city went up in smoke to the sky. The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that disaster had come on them. Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness, but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the middle of it. They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and trod them down at their resting place, as far as near Gibeah toward the sunrise. Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. They gleaned five thousand men of them in the highways, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck two thousand men of them. So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All these were men of valor. But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and stayed in the rock of Rimmon four months. The men of Israel turned again on the children of Benjamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword—including the entire city, the livestock, and all that they found. Moreover they set all the cities which they found on fire.
- 2 Samuel 17:2 I will come on him while he is weary and exhausted, and will make him afraid. All the people who are with him will flee. I will strike the king only,
- Psalms 56:6 They conspire and lurk, watching my steps. They are eager to take my life.
- Isaiah 47:11 Therefore disaster will come on you. You won’t know when it dawns. Mischief will fall on you. You won’t be able to put it away. Desolation will come on you suddenly, which you don’t understand.
- Acts 23:12 When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
- Acts 23:21 Therefore don’t yield to them, for more than forty men lie in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse to neither eat nor drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, looking for the promise from you.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Neh 4:11 And our adversaries said, They shall not…
Neh 4:11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
Ver. 11. And our adversaries said] But their plot was some way discovered, and so prevented. Detexit facinus fatuus et non implevit, saith Tacitus of one in his time. So the gunpowder traitors betrayed themselves; and all came to light, though they had dug as low as hell to hide their counsels from the Lord.
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They shall not know, neither see] But what shall he do who is omniscient and ολοφθαλμος, all-eye? whose providence is like a well drawn picture that vieweth all that comes into a room.
Till we come in the midst among them] Either in the night undiscerned; or by day, but unarmed, and not as enemies: for the Florentine secretary, though not yet (nor of many ages later) born into the world; yet the good of this world was as great a master then as afterwards.
And slay them, and cause the work to cease] The craft of the Church’s adversaries is never but accompanied with cruelty; and their cruelty is seldom without craft. The devil lends them his seven heads to plot, and his ten horns to push; but in the thing wherein they deal proudly, God is above these cruel crafties.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain We will come secretly and unexpectedly upon them so…
We will come secretly and unexpectedly upon them so as they shall neither foresee their danger, nor be able to prevent it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And our adversaries said, they shall not know,.... Our…
And our adversaries said, they shall not know,.... Our designs upon them:
neither see; or perceive what we are about to do:
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till we come in the midst of them; with an army suddenly, at an unawares, and unexpected:
and slay them; they being unarmed, and not prepared to defend themselves:
and cause the work to cease; as it must in course, the builders being slain.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Neh 4:11. Our adversaries said, They shall not know,…
Neh 4:11. Our adversaries said, They shall not know, &c. — Their enemies resolved not to appear with an army before Jerusalem, but to march so secretly that the Jews should have no notice of their approach till they saw them in the city, armed and prepared to attack them suddenly, and put them to the sword.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. They shall not know — They plotted a…
11. They shall not know — They plotted a secret assault, aiming to surprise the Jews in the midst of their work.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. our adversaries said] ‘adversaries,’ cf. Ezr_4:1. After mentioning…
11. our adversaries said] ‘adversaries,’ cf. Ezr_4:1. After mentioning the source of weakness within the walls, Nehemiah describes the danger from without. ‘Said.’ He gives, as if in their own words, their secret project of a surprise attack upon Jerusalem, either reporting the information brought by spies or describing by imagination what the intentions of the enemy were.
in the midst among them] R.V. Into the midst of them.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) They shall not know.—As to the adversaries, their…
(11) They shall not know.—As to the adversaries, their plan was evidently to watch and surprise, instead of making the threatened attack.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And our adversaries said, They shall not know.
Neh_4:11
And our adversaries said, They shall not know.
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The craft and cruelty of the Churchs adversaries
I. A strong combination against the church of god.
II. A wicked design they were combined in.
III. A bloody means propounded.
IV. A subtle way projected for the affecting of this. (Matthew Newcomen.)
Satanic subtlety
I. In this serpentine, crafty, and malicious dealing of these wicked men appeareth the old serpentine nature and malice of Satan.
II. The next property of the serpent that appeareth in them is that they mercilessly would murder them when they had once thus suddenly invaded them.
III. The last property of Satan appeareth here in these wicked men, in that they would gladly overthrow this building of Jerusalem, that it should never be thought of any more. (Bp. Pilkington.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:11 The relentless psychological attack of Israel’s enemies was…
4:11 The relentless psychological attack of Israel’s enemies was having a negative effect on morale.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.