Nehemiah 4:12

Green's 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.

Parallel Translations

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!"

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.

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.

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.

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].

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.

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."

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."

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,

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,

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.

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."

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.

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."

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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

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.

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."

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.

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,

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,"

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 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,"

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,"

Contextual Overview

⁷ And it happened, when Sanballat and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that repairing of the walls of Jerusalem had gone up, that the breaks were being closed up, it was very angering to them. ⁸ And all of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and do harm to it. ⁹ But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. ¹⁰ And Judah said, The strength of the burden carriers is weakening, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall. ¹¹ And our foes have said, They shall not know or see until we come in the middle of them and kill them, and cause the work to cease. ¹² 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. ¹³ So I stationed from the lowest parts of the place, from the back of the wall, in the higher places; even, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had broken their counsel, all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

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
And in the end of days, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Jehovah from the fruit of the ground.

Genesis 4:4
And Abel brought, he also, from the firstlings of his flocks, even from their fat. And Jehovah looked to Abel and to his offering.

Genesis 4:14
Behold! You have driven me out from the face of the earth today. And I shall be hidden from Your face. And I shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the earth. And it will be that anyone who finds me shall kill me.

Genesis 4:17
And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and he called the name of the city according to the name of his son, Enoch.

Genesis 4:18
And Irad was born to Enoch; and Irad fathered Mehujael And Mehujael fathered Methusael; and Methusael fathered Lamech.

Genesis 4:23
And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech; listen to my words; for I have killed a man because of my wound, and a young man because of my hurt.

Genesis 4:24
For Cain is avenged sevenfold, and Lamech seventy seven.

Leviticus 26:20
and your strength shall be consumed in vain, and your land shall not give her produce, and the tree of the land shall not give its fruit.

Leviticus 26:36
And those who are left of you, I shall also bring a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword; and they shall fall when no one pursues.

Psalms 109:10
and let his sons always beg and wander, and seek food out of their ruins;

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.