Nehemiah 4:12

Christian Standard Bible ®

When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, “Everywhere you turn, they attack us.”

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
It happened that when the Yehudim who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, You must return to us.

King James Version
And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.

English Standard Version
At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, "You must return to us."

New Century Version
Then the Jewish people who lived near our enemies came and told us ten times, "Everywhere you turn, the enemy will attack us."

New English Translation
So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly about all the schemes they were plotting against us.

Amplified Bible
When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times (repeatedly), "From every place you turn, they will come up against us."

New American Standard Bible
When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,"

World English Bible
It happened that when the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, You must return to us.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But when the Iewes (which dwelt beside them) came, they told vs ten times, From all places whece ye shal returne, they wil be vpon vs.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened when the Jews who lived near them came and said to us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,"

Berean Standard Bible
At that time the Jews who lived nearby came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."

Contemporary English Version
On at least ten different occasions, the Jews living near our enemies warned us against attacks from every side,

Complete Jewish Bible
As for the construction-workers, each one had his sword sheathed at his side; that is how they built. The man to sound the alarm on the shofar stayed with me.

Darby Translation
And it came to pass that when the Jews that dwelt by them came and told us so ten times, from all the places whence they returned to us,

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the Jews living among our enemies came and said this to us ten times, "Our enemies are all around us. They are everywhere we turn."

George Lamsa Translation
And when the Jews who dwelt with them came, they said to us, Behold, now ten times from all places where they dwell will they come and fight against you.

Good News Translation
But time after time Jews who were living among our enemies came to warn us of the plans our enemies were making against us.

Lexham English Bible
When the Jews who lived beside them came, they said to us ten times, "From all of the places where they live, they will come up against us."

Literal Translation
And it happened when the Jews who lived near them came in, they said to us ten times, From all places where you shall return, they will be against us.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whan the Iewes that dwelt besyde them, came out of all the places where they dwelt aboute vs, and tolde vs as good as te tymes,

American Standard Version
And it came to pass that, when the Jews that dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times from all places, Ye must return unto us.

Bible in Basic English
And it came about that when the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times, From all directions they are coming against us.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But when the Iewes which dwelt beside them, came, they told vs as good as ten times, that in all places where ye go vnto, they are appoynted to fal vpon vs.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the horn was by me.

King James Version (1611)
And it came to passe that when the Iewes which dwelt by them, came, they said vnto vs ten time, From all places, whence yee shall returne vnto vs, they will be vpon you.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.

English Revised Version
And it came to pass that, when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times from all places, Ye must return unto us.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe it was doon, whanne Jewis came, that dwelliden bisidis hem, and seiden to vs `bi ten tymes, fro alle places fro whiche thei camen to vs,

Update Bible Version
And it came to pass that, when the Jews that dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, You must return to us.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return to us [they will be upon you].

New King James Version
So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, "From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us."

New Living Translation
The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, "They will come from all directions and attack us!"

New Life Bible
When the Jews who lived by them came, they told us ten times, "They will come up against us from all the places where they live."

New Revised Standard
When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, "From all the places where they live they will come up against us."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But it came to pass, when the Jews dwelling near them came in, then said they unto us, ten times, From all places whither ye shall turn, they will be upon us!

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it came to pass, that when the Jews that dwelt by them came and told us ten times, out of all the places from whence they came to us,

Revised Standard Version
When the Jews who lived by them came they said to us ten times, "From all the places where they live they will come up against us."

Young's Literal Translation
And it cometh to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places whither ye return -- [they are] against us.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,"

Contextual Overview

⁷When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious. ⁸They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion. ⁹So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night. ¹⁰In Judah, it was said: ¹¹And our enemies said, “They won’t realize it until we’re among them and can kill them and stop the work.” ¹²When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, “Everywhere you turn, they attack us.” ¹³So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.” ¹⁵When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ten times: Genesis 31:7, Genesis 31:41, Numbers 14:22, Job 19:3

From all places: etc. or, That from all places ye must return to us

ye shall return: Houbigant, Michaelis, and Dathe contend, that instead of tashoovoo, "ye shall return," we should read chashevoo, "they designed.

Reciprocal: Daniel 1:20 - ten

Cross-References

Genesis 4:3
In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.

Genesis 4:4
And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,

Genesis 4:14
Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”

Genesis 4:17
Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son.

Genesis 4:18
Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.

Genesis 4:23
Lamech said to his wives:

Genesis 4:24
If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!

Leviticus 26:20
and your strength will be used up for nothing. Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.

Leviticus 26:36
“I will put anxiety in the hearts of those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a wind-driven leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as one flees from a sword, and fall though no one is pursuing them.

Psalms 109:10
Let his children wander as beggars,searching for food far from their demolished homes.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ver. 12 And it came to pass, when the Jews that dwelt by them,.... Near Samaria, Arabia, and Ashdod, and had intelligence of their designs:

came, they said to us ten times; that is, they came to them at Jerusalem, and often told them, as this phrase "ten times" signifies,

:-,

from all places whence ye shall return unto us: they will be upon you, come which way you will, so that ye are in the utmost danger: or "from all places"; where you are repairing and rebuilding:

return to us; that ye may enjoy peace and prosperity with us under Sanballat, c. and escape the wrath and fury you are now exposed to or "from all places we come, that ye may return to us"; so De Dieu; these Jews, though they pretended to be friends, to their brethren, yet seemed to be in friendship with their enemies, and sought to discourage them, and weaken their minds, and cause them to cease building.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ten times - i. e. repeatedly.

From all places ... - Better as in the margin. The Jews who dwelt on the Samaritan border, came to Jerusalem and tried to withdraw their contingents of workmen from the work, representing to them the impending danger, and saying, “You must return to your homes, and so escape it.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Nehemiah 4:12. From all places whence ye shall return unto us — This verse is extremely difficult. Our translators have supplied the words, they will be upon you, which have nothing correspondent in the Hebrew. The Septuagint have given a good sense, Αναβαινουσιν εκ παντων των τοπων εφ' ἡμας, They come up from all places against us. The sense appears to be this: the Jews which dwelt among the Samaritans, &c., came often to Nehemiah from all quarters, where they sojourned, and told him the designs of his enemies against him: therefore, he set people with their swords, spears, and bows, to defend the walls. It is probable that instead of תשובו tashubu, "ye shall return," we should read חשבו chashebu, "they designed or meditated." This word is very similar to the other, and makes the sense very clear. "The Jews who dwelt among them told us frequently, from all places, what they designed against us." For this reading Houbigant, Michaelis and Dathé contend. But this various reading is not found in any MS., and is not countenanced by any of the versions. See Nehemiah 4:15.