Nehemiah 4:13 (GNV)

Passage

Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall vpon the toppes of the stones, and placed the people by their families, with their swordes, their speares and their bowes.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 4:11 Also our aduersaries had sayde, They shall not knowe, neither see, till we come into the middes of them and slay them, and cause the worke to cease.

Nehemiah 4:12 But when the Iewes (which dwelt beside them) came, they told vs ten times, From all places whence ye shall returne, they wil be vpon vs.

Nehemiah 4:13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall vpon the toppes of the stones, and placed the people by their families, with their swordes, their speares and their bowes.

Nehemiah 4:14 Then I behelde, and rose vp, and said vnto the Princes, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afrayde of them: remember the great Lord, and fearefull, and fight for your brethren, your sonnes, and your daughters, your wiues, and your houses.

Nehemiah 4:15 And when our enemies heard that it was knowen vnto vs, then God brought their counsell to nought, and we turned all againe to the wall, euery one vnto his worke.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "lower", "places", "behind", "wall", "vpon", "toppes", and "stones". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "lower", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "But when the Iewes which dwelt beside..." into verse 14's "Then I behelde and rose vp and...", so "therefore" and "lower" 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 "therefore" and "lower" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.