Hurdles to Get Over: This section deals with a cluster of obstacles that had to be overcome. It is closely tied into the pattern of opposition we have already observed. Strictly speaking, verses 1–5 round off chapter 3: progress in wall building was countered by enemy opposition triggered by news of it (heard), which in turn was checked by a response from Nehemiah. Verses 6–9 reproduce this pattern of chess-like moves on a smaller scale. Verses 10–23 loosely continue the theme of overcoming obstacles. The structure of the passage follows a series of problems and their solutions. Nehemiah counters three negative statements in verses 10–12, the second spoken by Judah’s foes and the third enemy related, by three positive statements (vv. 14, 19–20, 22) and appropriate actions. He translated hi…