Nehemiah 6
New English Translation
Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues
6 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim[a] in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.
3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in[b] an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?” 4 They contacted[c] me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time.[d]
5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6 Written in it were the following words:
“Among the nations it is rumored[e] (and Geshem[f] has substantiated[g] this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors[h] you are going to become their king. 7 You have also established prophets to announce[i] in Jerusalem on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on, let’s talk about this.”[j]
8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing.[k] All of this is a figment of your imagination.”[l]
9 All of them were wanting[m] to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”
So now, strengthen my hands![n]
10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home.[o] He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”
11 But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life?[p] I will not go!” 12 I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat.[q] 13 He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I[r] would be discredited.[s]
14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs—also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who have been trying to scare me!
The Rebuilding of the Wall Is Finally Completed
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul,[t] in just fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw[u] this, they were greatly disheartened.[v] They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
17 In those days the aristocrats of Judah repeatedly sent letters to Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them. 18 For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him,[w] because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. 19 They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said.[x] Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare[y] me.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 6:2 tn It is not entirely clear whether the Hebrew word כְּפִירִים (kefirim) is a place-name not mentioned elsewhere in the OT (as indicated in the present translation; so also NAB, NASB) or whether it means “in [one of] the villages” (so, e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT; see BDB 499 s.v.; HALOT 493 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it in the latter sense. Some scholars connect this term with the identically spelled word כפירים (“lions”) as a figurative description of princes or warriors (e.g., Pss 34:11; 35:17; 58:7; Jer 2:15; Ezek 32:2, 13; Nah 2:14 HT [2:13 ET]; see HALOT 493 s.v. כְּפִיר): “let us meet together with the leaders in the plain of Ono.”
- Nehemiah 6:3 tn Heb “[am] doing.”
- Nehemiah 6:4 tn Heb “sent to.”
- Nehemiah 6:4 tn Heb “and I answered them according to this word.”
- Nehemiah 6:6 tn Heb “heard.”
- Nehemiah 6:6 tn Heb “Gashmu”; in Neh 2:19 this name appears as Geshem. Since it is important for the modern reader to recognize that this is the same individual, the form of the name used here in the translation is the same as that in v. 19.
- Nehemiah 6:6 tn Heb “is saying.”
- Nehemiah 6:6 tn Heb “words.” So also in v. 7.
- Nehemiah 6:7 tn Heb “call.”
- Nehemiah 6:7 tn Heb “Let us consult together.”
- Nehemiah 6:8 tn Heb “We are not according to these matters that you are saying.”
- Nehemiah 6:8 tn Heb “For from your heart you are inventing them.”
- Nehemiah 6:9 tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.
- Nehemiah 6:9 tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).
- Nehemiah 6:10 tn Heb “shut in.” The reason for his confinement is not stated. BDB 783 s.v. עָצַר suggests that it had to do with the fulfillment of a vow or was related to an issue of ceremonial uncleanness.
- Nehemiah 6:11 tn Heb “go into the temple and live.”
- Nehemiah 6:12 tn Heb “and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.”
- Nehemiah 6:13 tc The translation reads לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the MT reading לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”).
- Nehemiah 6:13 tn Heb “would have a bad name.”
- Nehemiah 6:15 sn Elul was the sixth month, or August-September by modern reckoning.
- Nehemiah 6:16 tc The MT understands the root here to be יָרֵא (yareʾ, “to fear”) rather than רָאָה (raʾah, “to see”).
- Nehemiah 6:16 tn Heb “they greatly fell [i.e., were cast down] in their own eyes.” Some scholars suggest emending the reading of the MT, וַיִּפְּלוּ (vayyipelu) to וַיִּפָּלֵא (vayyippaleʾ, “it was very extraordinary in their eyes”).
- Nehemiah 6:18 tn Heb “were lords of oath.”
- Nehemiah 6:19 tn Heb “my words.”
- Nehemiah 6:19 tn Or “to intimidate” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
Nehemiah 6
New King James Version
Conspiracy Against Nehemiah
6 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), 2 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.
3 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?”
4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6 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. 7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.
8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.”
9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.”
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
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 [e]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 (G)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 (H)My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the (I)prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.
The Wall Completed
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, (J)when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for (K)they perceived that this work was done by our God.
17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. 18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the (L)son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of (M)Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my [f]words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 6:1 Or Gashmu
- Nehemiah 6:2 Or Gashmu
- Nehemiah 6:2 Or in Kephirim, exact location unknown
- Nehemiah 6:6 Heb. Gashmu
- Nehemiah 6:10 Lit. house
- Nehemiah 6:19 Or affairs
Nehemiah 6
King James Version
6 Now it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobiah, 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; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)
2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
3 And 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?
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.
7 And 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.
8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut 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.
11 And 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.
12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 Therefore 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 reproach me.
14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess 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 Elul, in fifty and two days.
16 And it came to pass, that when all 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 they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
17 Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.
18 For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
Nehemiah 6
English Standard Version
Conspiracy Against Nehemiah
6 Now when (A)Sanballat and Tobiah and (B)Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it ((C)although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of (D)Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. 5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem[a] also says it, that you and (E)the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God,[b] strengthen my hands.
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was (F)confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?[c] I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, (G)but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 (H)Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also (I)the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
The Wall Is Finished
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And (J)when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, (K)for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of (L)Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of (M)Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 6:6 Hebrew Gashmu
- Nehemiah 6:9 Hebrew lacks O God
- Nehemiah 6:11 Or would go into the temple to save his life
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