Nehemiah 6

Attempts to Discourage the Builders

6When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies ^cheard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it ^d—though at that time I had not installed the doors in the gates ^e— ²Sanballat and Geshem ^fsent me a message: “Come, let’s meet together in the villages of ^gthe Ono Valley.” ^hBut they were planning to harm me.

³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great 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 ⁱsent 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 ^jkagrees—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.” ^lThese 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.” ^m9For they were all trying to intimidate ⁿus, saying, “They will become discouraged ^oin the work, ^pand it will never be finished.”

But now, my God, strengthen me. ^qr

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 us meet at the house of God

inside the temple.

Let us shut the temple doors

because they are coming to kill you.

They are coming to kill you tonight! ^s

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

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

The Wall Completed

¹⁵The wall was completed ^yin 52 days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. ^z16When all our enemies ^aheard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated ^band lost their confidence, ^cfor they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God. ^d

¹⁷During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, ^eand Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath ^fto him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam ^gson 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 ^hme.