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1When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it #– #though at that time I had not installed the doors in the city gates #– #[#6:1 Neh 2:10,19; #6:1 Neh 4:6–7; #6:1 Neh 3:1]
2Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message: ‘Come, let’s meet together in the villages of the Ono Valley.’ They were planning to harm me.[#6:2 Neh 2:10; #6:2 Or together at Kephirim in; #6:2 1Ch 8:12]
3So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing important work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? ’
4Four times they sent me the same proposal, and I gave them the same reply.
5Sanballat sent me this same message a fifth time by his assistant, who had an open letter in his hand.[#6:5 Neh 2:10]
6In it was written:
8Then I replied to him, ‘There is nothing to these rumours you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.’[#6:8 Jb 13:4; Ps 52:2]
9For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, ‘They will drop their hands from the work, and it will never be finished.’[#6:9 Ezr 3:3; #6:9 Or will give up on; #6:9 Ezr 4:4]
But now, my God, strengthen my hands.
10I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:
Let’s meet at the house of God,
inside the temple.
Let’s shut the temple doors
because they’re coming to kill you.
They’re coming to kill you tonight!
11But I said, ‘Should a man like me run away? How can someone like me enter the temple and live? I will not go.’[#6:10–11 Nm 18:7]
12I realised that God had not sent him, because of the prophecy he spoke against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.[#6:12 Neh 2:10; 6:1]
13He was hired, so that I would be intimidated, do as he suggested, sin, and get a bad reputation, in order that they could discredit me.[#6:13 Ezr 3:3]
14My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who wanted to intimidate me.[#6:14 Neh 13:29; #6:14 Rv 2:20]
15The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul.[#6:15 Neh 4:1,7; 6:1; #6:15 Ezr 6:15]
16When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realised that this task had been accomplished by our God.[#6:16 Neh 2:10; 6:1; #6:16 Ezr 3:3; #6:16 Lit and fell greatly in their eyes; #6:16 Ex 14:25]
17During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.[#6:17 Neh 6:1; 13:4–5,7–8]
18For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.[#6:18 Ezr 10:5; #6:18 Neh 3:4,30]
19These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.[#6:19 Neh 6:9,13]