Nehemiah 4:9 (GNV)

Passage

The we prayed vnto our God, and set watchmen by them, day and night, because of them.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 4:7 But when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodims heard that the walles of Ierusalem were repayred, (for the breaches began to be stopped) then they were very wroth,

Nehemiah 4:8 And conspired all together to come and to fight against Ierusalem, and to hinder them.

Nehemiah 4:9 The we prayed vnto our God, and set watchmen by them, day and night, because of them.

Nehemiah 4:10 And Iudah said, The strength of the bearers is weakened, and there is much earth, so that we are not able to build the wall.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "prayed", "vnto", "watchmen", and "night". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "prayed" and "vnto", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And conspired all together to come and..." into verse 10's "And Iudah said The strength of the...", so "prayed" and "vnto" 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 "prayed" and "vnto" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.