Their Enemies Try to Stop the Completion of the Wall of Jerusalem |
Nehemiah 6:1-19 The Book of Nehemiah in [Smaller Chunks] |
Now it [happened,] when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, the Arabian & the rest of enemies, heard that I had [rebuilt] the wall & there was no [weakness] left [in it,] (though, at that time, I hadn’t [put] up the gate doors;) |
[Then,] Sanballat & Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let’s meet together in 1 of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they [meant] to do me [harm.] And I sent messengers to them saying, I’m doing [a big job,] so I can’t come down. Why should the work [stop] while I leave it & come down to you? |
They [still] sent to me 4 [more] times [about] this. And I answered them the same [way.] Then, Sanballat sent his servant to me like [in the past,] with an open letter in his hand, the 5th time. |
[On it,] was written, It is reported among the heathen & Gashmu says it, that you & the Jews [plan] to rebel. [For this reason,] you have [rebuilt] the wall, [so] you may be their king, according to these [rumors.] |
And you have also appointed prophets to preach [about] you in Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah. And now, [that] shall be reported to the king, according to these words. Therefore, now come, [so we can discuss this] together. |
Then, I sent back to him, [Nothing you said has been] done. You [made it up] out of your own heart. For they all [tried to make] us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, [so that it isn’t completed.] |
Therefore, O God, now strengthen my hands. Afterward, I came to the house of Shemaiah, [Delaiah’s] son, [who was] the son of Mehetabeel, [a.k.a. Mehetabel,] [who] was [confined.] |
And he said, Let’s meet together in the house of God, [inside] the temple. Let’s shut the temple doors: for they will come to [kill] you in the night. I said, [Why] should [someone like me] flee? |
Who [else] is there [like me, who] would go into the temple to save his life? I won’t go in. And I [realized] that God hadn’t sent him. For Tobiah & Sanballat has hired him to [say] this prophecy against me. |
Therefore, he was hired, [so] that I [would] be afraid & do [this] & sin. [That way,] they [would have something against me] for a [bad] report, [so] that they might [disgrace] me. |
My God, think upon the [deeds of] Tobiah & Sanballat, Noadiah & the prophetess & the rest of the prophets, [who want me to be afraid.] So,the wall was finished in 52 days, [on] 25th day of the month Elul. |
And it [happened,] that when all our enemies heard [of this] & all the heathen [who were around] us saw these things, they were [very downcast] in their own eyes. For they [realized] that this work was [carried out by] our God. |
[Also,] in those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah & Tobiah [went] to them. [Nehemiah 13:4 And before this, Eliashib, the priest, having the oversight of the [storage room] of [God’s] house, was allied [with] Tobiah.] |
[Since] he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah, [Arah’s] son & his son, Johanan, had [married] the daughter of Meshullam, [who was] the son of Berechiah, there were many in Judah, [who had] sworn [alliance] to him. |
Also, they reported his good deeds before me & uttered my [situation] to him. And Tobiah sent letters to me [to make me afraid.] |