Verse Lens · Context pointer
Nehemiah 4:11 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 11. 11And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse quotes opponents imagining an unseen entry, killing, and cessation of the work.
Read It With
- Nehemiah 4:7–4:12
Read Nehemiah 4:7–4:12 together. This verse quotes opponents imagining an unseen entry, killing, and cessation of the work. Read Nehemiah 4:7–4:12 as one complete scene: Regional opponents plan an attack; the community prays and sets a watch, but burden-bearers report exhaustion and nearby Jews repeatedly warn of danger.
Why It Needs Context
This line performs one particular step inside Nehemiah 4:7–4:12; read it with the unit's movement. The scope and immediacy of the conspiracy are narrated from the Jerusalem community's perspective; external corroboration is unavailable. Specifically, this verse quotes opponents imagining an unseen entry, killing, and cessation of the work.
Read Nehemiah 4:7–12 together
Why these verses belong together: A widening opposition coalition and violent plan are answered by prayer and guard, while debris, failing strength, threat, and tenfold warnings expose the workers' strain.
Verse 7. 7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
Verse 8. 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
Verse 9. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
Verse 10. 10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
Verse 11. 11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
Verse 12. 12 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.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nehemiah 4:7–4:12 — Conspiracy, watchfulness, exhaustion, and warnings convergeSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Nehemiah 4:7–4:12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Nehemiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, Persian titles, names, and translation controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Neh.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 4:7–4:12
Open source ↗