Verse Lens · Context pointer
Nehemiah 4:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse adds Tobiah's taunt that even a fox would break the stone wall.
Read It With
- Nehemiah 4:1–4:6
Read Nehemiah 4:1–4:6 together. This verse adds Tobiah's taunt that even a fox would break the stone wall. Read Nehemiah 4:1–4:6 as one complete scene: Opponents ridicule the Jews and the wall; Nehemiah prays for their reproach to return, and the people join the wall to half its height.
Why It Needs Context
This line performs one particular step inside Nehemiah 4:1–4:6; read it with the unit's movement. The narrator gives opponents' words and Nehemiah's prayer, not neutral transcripts of every party's motives or a direct divine response. Specifically, this verse adds Tobiah's taunt that even a fox would break the stone wall.
Read Nehemiah 4:1–6 together
Why these verses belong together: Sanballat's anger and public mockery, Tobiah's taunt, Nehemiah's harsh prayer, and the people's continued work form one escalation.
Verse 1. 1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
Verse 2. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
Verse 3. 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
Verse 4. 4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
Verse 5. 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
Verse 6. 6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nehemiah 4:1–4:6 — Mockery, imprecation, and half-height progressSources 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 4:1–4:6, 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 4:1–4:6
Open source ↗