¹⁰ Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the ^[a]temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.”

¹¹ And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” ¹² Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that ^(A)he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

^14 (B)My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the ^(C)prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.

The Reforms of Nehemiah

⁴ Now before this, ^(A)Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with ^(B)Tobiah. ⁵ And he had prepared for him a large room, ^(C)where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, ^(D)which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.