Conspiracy Against Nehemiah

Now it happened (A)when Sanballat, Tobiah, [a]Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (B)(though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and [b]Geshem (C)sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together [c]among the villages in the plain of (D)Ono.” But they (E)thought to do me harm.

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.

Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written:

It is reported among the nations, and [d]Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, (F)that you may be their king.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 6:1 Or Gashmu
  2. Nehemiah 6:2 Or Gashmu
  3. Nehemiah 6:2 Or in Kephirim, exact location unknown
  4. Nehemiah 6:6 Heb. Gashmu

Further Opposition to the Rebuilding

When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah,(A) Geshem(B) the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages[a] on the plain of Ono.(C)

But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

Then, the fifth time, Sanballat(D) sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written:

“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem[b](E) says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 6:2 Or in Kephirim
  2. Nehemiah 6:6 Hebrew Gashmu, a variant of Geshem