And sayde before his brethren and the armie of Samaria, thus he sayde, What doe these weake Iewes? wil they fortifie them selues? wil they sacrifice? will they finish it in a day? will they make the stones whole againe out of the heapes of dust, seeing they are burnt?
Nehemiah 4:1 But when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, then was he wroth and sore grieued, and mocked the Iewes,
Nehemiah 4:2 And sayde before his brethren and the armie of Samaria, thus he sayde, What doe these weake Iewes? wil they fortifie them selues? wil they sacrifice? will they finish it in a day? will they make the stones whole againe out of the heapes of dust, seeing they are burnt?
Nehemiah 4:3 And Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and said, Although they buylde, yet if a foxe goe vp, he shall euen breake downe their stonie wall.
Nehemiah 4:4 Heare, O our God (for we are despised) and turne their shame vpon their owne head, and giue them vnto a pray in the lande of their captiuitie,
The verse centers on "sayde", "before", "brethren", "armie", "samaria", "thus", and "weake". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sayde" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "But when Sanballat heard that we builded..." into verse 3's "And Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him...", so "sayde" and "before" 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 "sayde" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.