From Nehemiah 4:2, we learn that Sanballat’s derision was voiced in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria.
They were spoken, in other words, in Samaria. Yet their intended audience was the builders
of Jerusalem. With these words Nehemiah tells us that his labourers heard Sanballat’s scorn.
5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.