Nehemiah 6

Attempts to Discourage the Builders

¹When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies ^a heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it ^b #— #though at that time I had not installed the doors in the city gates ^c #— # ²Sanballat and Geshem ^d sent me a message: “Come, let’s meet together in the villages of ^e the Ono Valley.” ^f They were planning to harm me.

³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing important work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? ” ⁴Four times they sent me the same proposal, and I gave them the same reply.

⁵Sanballat ^g sent me this same message a fifth time by his aide, who had an open letter in his hand. ⁶In it was written:

It is reported among the nations #— #and Geshem ^h,ⁱ agrees #— #that you and the Jews plan to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king ⁷and have even set up the prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf, “There is a king in Judah.” ^j These rumors will be heard by the king. So come, let’s confer together.

⁸Then I replied to him, “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.” ^{k 9}For they were all trying to intimidate ^l us, saying, “They will drop their hands from ^m the work, ⁿ and it will never be finished.”

But now, my God, strengthen my hands. ^o

Attempts to Intimidate Nehemiah

¹⁰I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:

Let’s meet at the house of God,

inside the temple.

Let’s shut the temple doors

because they’re coming to kill you.

They’re coming to kill you tonight! ^p

¹¹But I said, “Should a man like me run away? How can someone like me enter the temple and live? ^q I will not go.” ¹²I realized that God had not sent him, because of the prophecy he spoke against me. Tobiah and Sanballat ^r had hired him. ¹³He was hired, so that I would be intimidated, ^s do as he suggested, sin, and get a bad reputation, in order that they could discredit me.

¹⁴My God, remember ^t Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also the prophetess Noadiah ^u and the other prophets who wanted to intimidate me.

The Wall Completed

¹⁵The wall was completed ^v in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. ^{w 16}When all our enemies ^x heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated ^y and lost their confidence, ^z for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God. ^aa

¹⁷During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, ^ab and Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath ^ac to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam ^ad son of Berechiah. ¹⁹These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate ^ae me.