none of us put off our clothes; at night when they laid themselves down to sleep, but laid in, them, that they might be ready upon an alarm made: saving that everyone put them off for washing; not for common washing, because dirty, but for washing on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which required washing both of bodies and garments, see Lev 15:5 , &c. and the Vulgate Latin version expresses it by baptism, as the apostle calls such ceremonial ablutions in Heb 6:2 . It is in the margin of our Bibles, "everyone went with his weapon for water"; when he went to Siloam, or any other place, for water, he took a weapon with him to defend himself upon occasion; which is no bad sense of the words. Noldius (g) renders the words, "everyone with his weapon (and) water"; both were at his bolster, ready, if wanted, see Sa1 26:11 . (g) Ebr. Concord. Partic. p. 322. Next: Nehemiah Chapter 5 Sacred Texts | Bible « Previous: John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: Nehemiah: Neh... Index Next: John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: Nehemiah: Neh... »