Nehemiah 6:1–14

¹When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left— though to that time I had not yet installed the doors in the gates— ²Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages^a on the plain^b of Ono.”

But 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 stop while I leave it to go down to you?”

⁴Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave the same reply.

⁵The fifth time, Sanballat sent me this same message by his young servant, who had in his hand an unsealed letter ⁶that read:

“It is reported among the nations— and Geshem^c agrees— that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king, ⁷and you have even appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf: ‘There is a king in Judah.’ Soon these rumors will reach the ears of the king. So come, let us confer together.”

⁸Then I sent him this reply: “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”

⁹For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.”

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

¹⁰Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined 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 —

by night they are coming to kill you!”

¹¹But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Should one like me go into the temple to save his own life? I will not go!”

¹²I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would sin by doing as he suggested, so they could give me a bad name in order to discredit me.

¹⁴O my God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who tried to intimidate me.