Nehemiah 6:5–9

6:5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6:6 Written in it were the following words:

“Among the nations it is rumored5 (and Geshem6 has substantiated7 this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors8 you are going to become their king. 6:7 You have also established prophets to announce9 in Jerusalem10 on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.”11

6:8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing.12 All of this is a figment of your imagination.”13

6:9 All of them were wanting14 to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands!15

5	tn Heb “heard.”
6	tn Heb “Gashmu”; in Neh 2:19 this name appears as Geshem. Since it is important for the modern reader to recognize that this is the same individual, the form of the name used here in the translation is the same as that in v. 19.
7	tn Heb “is saying.”
8	tn Heb “words.” So also in v. 7.
9	tn Heb “call.”
10	map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
11	tn Heb “Let us consult together.”
12	tn Heb “We are not according to these matters that you are saying.”
13	tn Heb “For from your heart you are inventing them.”
14	tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.
15	tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).