Nehemiah 4:3 (DRB)

Passage

Tobias also the Ammonite who was by him said: Let them build: if a fox go up, he will leap over their stone wall.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 4:1 And it came to pass, that when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall he was angry: and being moved exceedingly he scoffed at the Jews.

Nehemiah 4:2 And said before his brethren, and the multitude of the Samaritans: What are the silly Jews doing? Will the Gentiles let them alone? will they sacrifice and make an end in a day? are they able to raise stones out of the heaps of the rubbish, which are burnt?

Nehemiah 4:3 Tobias also the Ammonite who was by him said: Let them build: if a fox go up, he will leap over their stone wall.

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

Nehemiah 4:5 Cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thy face, because they have mocked thy builders.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tobias", "ammonite", "said", "build", "leap", "over", "stone", and "wall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tobias" and "ammonite", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And said before his brethren and the..." into verse 4's "Hear thou our God for we are...", so "tobias" 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 "tobias" and "ammonite" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.