Neemias 6

¹ 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 noThat is, that they were joined together, as in (Neh_4:6).breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

² Then sent Sanballat and Geshem vnto me, saying, Come thou that we may meete together in the villages in the plaine of Ono: and they thought to doe me euill.

³ And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I [am] doing a great work, so that I cannot come down:Meaning, that if he obeyed their request, the work God had appointed would cease: showing by this that we should not commit ourselves to the hands of the wicked.why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

⁴ Yet they sent vnto me foure times after this sort; I answered them after the same maner.

⁵ Then sent Sanballat his seruant after this sorte vnto me the fift 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 theseAs the same goes.words.

⁷ And thou hast also appointedYou have bribed and set up false prophets, to make yourself king, and so to defraud the king of Persia of that subjection which you owe to him.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 vnto him, saying, It is not done according to these wordes that thou sayest: for thou feynest them of thine owne heart.

⁹ For all they afrayed vs, saying, Their handes shalbe weakened from the worke, and it shall not be done: nowe therefore incourage thou me.

¹⁰ Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who [was]As though he would be secret, to the intent that he might pray to God with greater liberty, and receive some revelation, which in him was only hypocrisy.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,He did not doubt that God was able to preserve him and knew that if he had obeyed this counsel he would have discouraged all the people: thus God gives power to his to resist false prophecies, though they seem to have great probability.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 loe, I perceiued, that God had not sent him, but that he pronounced this prophecie against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

¹³ Therefore was he hyred, that I might be afrayde, and doe thus, and sinne, and that they might haue an euill report that they might reproche me.

¹⁴ My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on theGrief caused him to pray against such, who under the pretence of being the ministers of God, were adversaries to his glory, and went about to overthrow his Church, declaring also by this that where there is one true minister of God, the devil has many hirelings.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]Which was the sixth month and contained part of August, and part of September.Elul, inAfter I had sent Sanballat his answer.fifty and two days.

¹⁶ And when all our enemies heard thereof, euen all the heathen that were about vs, they were afraid, & their courage failed them: for they knew, that this worke was wrought by our God.

¹⁷ Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent manyThus the Church of God always has enemies within itself, which is more dangerous than outward and professed enemies.letters unto Tobiah, and [the letters] of Tobiah came unto them.

¹⁸ For there were many in Iudah, that were sworne vnto him: for he was the sonne in lawe of Shechaniah, the sonne of Arah: and his sonne Iehonathan had the daughter of Meshullam, the sonne of Berechiah.

¹⁹ Yea, they spake in his praise before me, & tolde him my wordes, and Tobiah sent letters to put me in feare.