Nehemiah 4:2
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?
The verse belongs to the opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, when the neighboring chiefs Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem watched Nehemiah's actions and tried to thwart his plans and hinder the work. Sanballat speaks with scorn before his brethren and the army of Samaria, calling the Jews weak and feeble and mocking their ruined condition and their ability to fortify the city, to finish the work quickly in a day, and to revive usable stones out of heaps of burned rubbish. His question about sacrificing ridicules their ability to restore worship through sacrifice. The taunts were meant to sow doubt, discourage and divide the builders, and portray their undertaking as impossible and destined to fail.
The verse displays the scorn, hostility, hatred, falsehood, and treachery of Sanballat and Tobiah toward the Jews as they worked. It stands side by side with the nobility, devotion, and self-sacrifice of Ezra and Nehemiah as a sharp contrast between sin and holiness, between the fearful results of transgressing God's commands and the blessings of obedience. That contrast is placed in Scripture so that beholders may shun sin and accept holiness and may freely choose whether to suffer transgression or enjoy obedience.
What the builders faced is typical of what God's workers face, as the enemies of God's work use contempt and ridicule to discourage its workers, make sacred things seem ridiculous, and encourage one another to turn people from their duty. That opposition includes contempt and cruelty from enemies and also discouragement and betrayal from professed or pretended friends, whose rebellious wills oppose God's requirements by supporting evil and giving the Lord's enemies material to use against His people. Such contempt can be followed by more violent measures and persecution, especially when God's workers are active and successful. Although zealous opposition and hindrances at times nearly stopped the work, the Lord heard prayer and opened the way for it to continue, moving rulers to help carry out His purpose.