Nehemiah 4:14

Young's Literal Translation

And I see, and rise up, and say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, `Be not afraid of them; the Lord, the great and the fearful, remember ye, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
After 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.”

Hebrew Names Version
I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Don't be you afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

King James Version
And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord , which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

English Standard Version
And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

New Century Version
Then I looked around and stood up and said to the important men, the leaders, and the rest of the people: "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and powerful. Fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes."

New English Translation
When I had 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 awesome Lord, and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!"

Amplified Bible
When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; [confidently] remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and [with courage from Him] fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and for your homes."

New American Standard Bible
When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

World English Bible
I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Don't be you afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Geneva Bible (1587)
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 Lorde, and fearefull, and fight for your brethren, your sonnes, and your daughters, your wiues, and your houses.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: "Do not fear them; remember the Lord who is great and fearsome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

Berean Standard Bible
After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

Contemporary English Version
Then I looked things over and told the leaders, the officials, and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of your enemies! The Lord is great and fearsome. So think of him and fight for your relatives and children, your wives and homes!"

Complete Jewish Bible
But wherever you are, when you hear the sound of the shofar, come to that place, to us. Our God will fight for us!"

Darby Translation
And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

Easy-to-Read Version
After looking over everything, I stood up and spoke to the important families, the officials, and the rest of the people. I said, "Don't be afraid of our enemies. Remember the Lord, who is great and powerful! You must fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters! You must fight for your wives and your homes!"

George Lamsa Translation
And I was afraid, and arose and said to the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them; remember the LORD, who is great and revered, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

Good News Translation
I saw that the people were worried, so I said to them and to their leaders and officials, "Don't be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and terrifying the Lord is, and fight for your relatives, your children, your wives, and your homes."

Lexham English Bible
And I looked, got up, and said to the nobles, prefects, and the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

Literal Translation
And I saw. And I rose up and said to the nobles and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, yourwives, and your houses.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& loked, and gat me vp, and sayde vnto the chefe men and rulers, & to the other people: Be not ye afrayed of them, thynke vpon ye greate LORDE which ought to be feared, & fighte for yor brethren, sonnes, daughters, wyues, & houses.

American Standard Version
And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Bible in Basic English
And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I loked, and gat me vp, and sayde vnto the chiefe men, to the rulers, and to the other people, Be not ye afrayde of them: but thinke rather vpon the great Lorde whiche ought to be feared, and fight for your brethre, your sonnes, your daughters, your wiues, & your houses.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
in what place soever ye hear the sound of the horn, resort ye thither unto us; our God will fight for us.'

King James Version (1611)
And I looked, and rose vp, and said vnto the Nobles, and to the rulers, and to rest of the people, Bee not ye afraid of them: Remember the Lord which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sonnes and your daughters, your wiues & your houses.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the captains, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember our great and terrible God, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

English Revised Version
And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y bihelde, and roos, and seide to the principal men, and magistratis, and to `the tother part of the comyn puple, Nyle ye drede of her face; haue ye mynde of the greet Lord, and ferdful, and fiyte ye for youre britheren, and youre sones, and youre douytris, for youre wyues, and housis.

Update Bible Version
And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Don't be afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be ye not afraid of them: remember the Lord [who is] great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

New King James Version
And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

New Living Translation
Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!"

New Life Bible
When I saw their fear, I got up and said to the rulers and leaders and the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord Who is great and honored with fear. And fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

New Revised Standard
After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord , who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then I looked and rose up, and said - unto the nobles and unto the deputies and unto the rest of the people, Do not ye fear because of them, - the great and fearful Lord, remember ye, so shall ye fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I looked and rose up: and I said to the chief men and the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: be not afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, and your wives, and your houses.

Revised Standard Version
And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses."

Contextual Overview

⁷ And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that lengthening hath gone up to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breeches have begun to be stopped, then it is very displeasing to them, ⁸ and they conspire, all of them together, to come in to fight against Jerusalem, and to do to it injury. ⁹ And we pray unto our God, and appoint a watch against them, by day and by night, because of them. ¹⁰ And Judah saith, `The power of the burden-bearers hath become feeble, and the rubbish [is] abundant, and we are not able to build on the wall.' <sup>11</sup> And our adversaries say, `They do not know, nor see, till that we come in to their midst, and have slain them, and caused the work to cease.' ¹² 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. ¹³ And I appoint at the lowest of the places, at the back of the wall, in the clear places, yea, I appoint the people, by their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ And I see, and rise up, and say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, `Be not afraid of them; the Lord, the great and the fearful, remember ye, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.' ¹⁵ And it cometh to pass, when our enemies have heard that it hath been known to us, and God doth frustrate their counsel, and we turn back, all of us, unto the wall, each unto his work;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Be ye not afraid, Numbers 14:9, Deuteronomy 1:21, Deuteronomy 1:29, Deuteronomy 1:30, Deuteronomy 20:3, Deuteronomy 20:4, Joshua 1:9, 2 Chronicles 20:15-17, 2 Chronicles 32:7, Psalms 27:1, Psalms 46:11, Isaiah 41:10-14, Matthew 10:28, Hebrews 13:6

remember: Psalms 20:7, Psalms 77:10-20, Psalms 143:5, Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah 51:13, Isaiah 63:11-13

great: Nehemiah 1:5, Deuteronomy 10:17, Job 37:22, Psalms 65:5, Psalms 66:3, Psalms 66:5, Isaiah 64:1-3, Nahum 1:2-7, Hebrews 12:20, Hebrews 12:21, Hebrews 12:28, Hebrews 12:29

fight: 2 Samuel 10:12

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 7:21 - a mighty God 1 Chronicles 19:13 - of good Psalms 99:3 - thy great Jeremiah 10:6 - thou Daniel 2:45 - the great

Cross-References

Genesis 4:5
and unto Cain and unto his present He hath not looked; and it is very displeasing to Cain, and his countenance is fallen.

Genesis 4:6
And Jehovah saith unto Cain, `Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen?

Genesis 4:11
and now, cursed [art] thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive the blood of thy brother from thy hand;

Genesis 4:12
when thou tillest the ground, it doth not add to give its strength to thee -- a wanderer, even a trembling one, thou art in the earth.'

Genesis 4:13
And Cain saith unto Jehovah, `Greater is my punishment than to be borne;

Genesis 4:14
lo, Thou hast driven me to-day from off the face of the ground, and from Thy face I am hid; and I have been a wanderer, even a trembling one, in the earth, and it hath been -- every one finding me doth slay me.'

Genesis 4:15
And Jehovah saith to him, `Therefore -- of any slayer of Cain sevenfold it is required;' and Jehovah setteth to Cain a token that none finding him doth slay him.

Genesis 4:16
And Cain goeth out from before Jehovah, and dwelleth in the land, moving about east of Eden;

Genesis 4:20
And Adah beareth Jabal, he hath been father of those inhabiting tents and purchased possessions;

Genesis 4:24
For sevenfold is required for Cain, And for Lamech seventy and sevenfold.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I looked,.... Took a view of the people, and observed that they were in their proper place, and sufficiently armed, and also whether the enemy was coming:

and rose up and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people; who were under their nobles and rulers, as their captains and commanders:

be not ye afraid of them; of their enemies, their numbers, and their threats:

remember the Lord, which is great and terrible; who is greater than they, and is to be feared and trusted in by his people, and is terrible even to the kings of the earth:

and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses; intimating, that they were in danger of losing all that was near and dear, valuable and precious to them, if they did not fight for them; and therefore it became them to quit themselves like men, and be strong.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 14. Be not ye afraid of them — Are they more terrible or stronger than God?

Fight for your brethren — Your own countrymen, who worship the same God, and are come from the same stock; your sons, whom they wish to slay or lead into captivity; your daughters and wives, whom they wish to deflower and defile; and your houses, which they wish to seize and occupy as their own. They had every thing at stake; and therefore they must fight pro aris et focis, for their religion, their lives, and their property. A people thus interested, who once take up the sword, can never be conquered.

There is an address made to the Greeks by their leader in AEschylus, Pers. ver. 402, similar to this, to excite them against the Persians: -

- Ω Παιδες Ἑλληνων, ιτε,

Ελευθερουτε πατριδ,ελευθερουτε δε

Παιδας, γυνιακας, θεων ρε πατρῳων ἑδη,

Θηκας τε προγονων· νυν ὑπερ παντων αγων.

"-----------Sons of the Greeks, go on!

Free now your country, and your children free;

Your wives, the temples of your fathers' gods,

And dear abodes of farthest ancestors:--

Now strike the blow for all!" J. B. B. C.