10. Meanwhile, the people of Judah were singing a sorrowful song:“So much rubble for us to haul!Worn out and weary,will we ever finish this wall?”
11. Our enemies were saying, “Before those Jews know what has happened, we will sneak up and kill them and put an end to their work.”
12. On at least ten different occasions, the Jews living near our enemies warned us against attacks from every side,
13. and so I sent people to guard the wall at its lowest places and where there were still holes in it. I placed them according to families, and they stood guard with swords and spears and with bows and arrows.