Nehemiah 6
6
1Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates;) 2that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. 3And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: Why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? 4And they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. 5Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; 6wherein was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou buildest the wall: and thou wouldest be their king, according to these words. 7And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. 8Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. 9For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands.
10And I went unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. 11And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. 12And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him: but he pronounced this prophecy against me: and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13For this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 14Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
15So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. 16And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard thereof, that all the heathen that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. 17Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. 18For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah to wife. 19Also they spake of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
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Nehemiah 6: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Nehemiah 6
6
Sanballat Tries to Harm Nehemiah
1Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gaps had been left in it (although at that time I had not yet hung the doors in the city gates). 2Then Sanballat and Geshem sent this message to me: “Let’s meet in Hakkephirim on the plain of Ono.” They were planning to harm me.
3I sent messengers to tell them, “I’m working on an important project and can’t get away. Why should the work stop while I leave to meet with you?” 4They sent the same message to me four times, and I answered them the same way. 5When Sanballat sent me the same message a fifth time, his servant held in his hand an unsealed letter. 6In it was written:
It has been reported throughout the nations, and Geshem has confirmed it, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel. That’s why you’re rebuilding the wall. According to this report, you want to become their king. 7You’ve appointed prophets to announce about you in Jerusalem, ‘There’s a king in Judah!’ This report will get back to the king. So let’s talk about this.
8Then I sent someone to tell him, “None of your accusations are true. You are making them up out of your own imagination.”
9They were all trying to intimidate us. They thought we would give up and not finish the work.
But God made me strong.
10 ⌞One day⌟ I went to the home of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel. Shemaiah who was confined to his house, said, “Let’s meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and close the temple doors. Some men are coming at night to kill you.”
11But I asked, “Should a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I won’t go.”
12Then I realized that God hadn’t sent him. Instead, Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to prophesy against me. 13He was hired to intimidate me into doing this so that I would sin. Then they could give me a bad reputation in order to discredit me.
14 ⌞Nehemiah prayed,⌟ “My God, remember what Tobiah and Sanballat have done. Also, remember the female prophet Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.”
The Wall Rebuilt in Spite of Opposition
15The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul. The wall took 52 days to finish. 16When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence. They realized we had done this work with the help of our God.
Traitors on the Inside
17In those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah sent many letters back to them. 18Many in Judah had promised to support Tobiah because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, Arah’s son. In addition, Tobiah’s son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam, Berechiah’s son. 19The nobles were singing Tobiah’s praises to me and reporting to him what I said. Tobiah kept sending letters to intimidate me.
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