Nehemiah 4:3 (DBY)

Passage

And Tobijah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox went up, it would break down their stone wall.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 4:1 And it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was angry and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

Nehemiah 4:2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? shall they be permitted to go on? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, when they are burned?

Nehemiah 4:3 And Tobijah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox went up, it would break down their stone wall.

Nehemiah 4:4 Hear, our God, for we are despised, and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in a land of captivity!

Nehemiah 4:5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked the builders.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tobijah", "ammonite", "said", "even", "build", "went", "break", and "down". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tobijah" and "ammonite", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And he spoke before his brethren and..." into verse 4's "Hear our God for we are despised...", so "tobijah" and "ammonite" belong inside that flow. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "tobijah" and "ammonite" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.