Nehemiah 4:21 (YLT)

Passage

And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 4:19 And I say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, `The work is abundant, and large, and we are separated on the wall, far off one from another;

Nehemiah 4:20 in the place that ye hear the voice of the trumpet thither ye are gathered unto us; our God doth fight for us.'

Nehemiah 4:21 And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.

Nehemiah 4:22 Also, at that time I said to the people, `Let each with his servant lodge in the midst of Jerusalem, and they have been to us by night a guard, and by day <FI>for<Fi> the work:'

Nehemiah 4:23 and there are none--I and my brethren and my servants, the men of the guard who <FI>are<Fi> after me--there are none of us putting off our garments, each <FI>hath<Fi> his vessel of water.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "working", "business", "half", "keeping", "hold", "spears", "going", and "dawn". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "working" and "business", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "in the place that ye hear the..." into verse 22's "Also at that time I said to...", so "working" and "business" 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 "working" and "business" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.