Nehemiah 6

6Now it came to pass, when ^aSanballat, and ^aTobiah, and ^||Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; ^b(though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) ²That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us ^bbmeet together in some one of the villages in the plain of ^cOno. 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? ⁴Yet 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 heathen, and ^||Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think ^dto rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest 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 ^efeignest them out of thine own heart. ⁹For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, ^fO God, strengthen my hands. ¹⁰Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was ^gshut 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 as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. ¹²And, lo, I perceived ^hthat God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³Therefore 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 ⁱreproach me. ^14kMy God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the ^hprophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.

^15*So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month ^lElul, ^min fifty and two days. ¹⁶And it came to pass, that when ⁿall our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for ^othey 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 ^psworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of ^qArah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of ^rMeshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my ^||words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.