10 ¶ And I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, and he was [a]shut up, and he said, Let us come together into the house of God in the midst of the Temple, and shut the doors of the Temple: for they will come to slay thee: yea, in the night will they come to kill thee.

11 Then I said, [b]Should such a man as I, flee? Who is he, being as I am, that would go into the Temple to live? 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 might be afraid, and do thus, and sin, and that they might have an evil report, that they might reproach me.

14 My God, remember thou Tobiah, and Sanballat according unto these their works, and Noadiah the [c]Prophetess also, and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 6:10 As though he would be secret, to the intent that he might pray unto God with greater liberty, and receive some revelation, which in him was but hypocrisy.
  2. Nehemiah 6:11 He doubted not but God was able to preserve him, and knew that if he had obeyed this counsel he should have discouraged all the people: thus God giveth power to his to resist false prophecies, though they seem to have never so great probability.
  3. Nehemiah 6:14 Very grief caused him to pray against such, which under the pretence of being the ministers of God, were adversaries to his glory, and went about to overthrow his Church, declaring also hereby that where there is one true minister of God, the devil hath a great sort of hirelings.

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