Charles Ellicott Commentary Nehemiah 4:2

"And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? 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 rubbish, seeing they are burned?" — Nehemiah 4:2 (ASV)

His brethren and the army of Samaria. —The counsellors and bodyguard of Sanballat.

Will they fortify themselves? —Rather, will they leave them to themselves? The nations are referred to; but contempt is not scrupulous or precise.

Will they sacrifice? —This is the provocation of God mentioned in Nehemiah 4:5.