Nehemiah — Chapter 6
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1Now 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;)
2That 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.
3And 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?
4Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6Wherein 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.
7And 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.
8Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
9For 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.
10Afterward 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.
11And 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.
12And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13Therefore 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.
14My 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.
15So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
16And 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.
17Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.
18For 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.
19Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
1Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates;)
2that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in [one of] the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
3And 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?
4And they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,
6wherein was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou art building the wall: and thou wouldest be their king, according to these words.
7And 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.
8Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
9For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. But now, [O God], strengthen thou my hands.
10And I went unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, 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.
11And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
12And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me: and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13For this cause 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.
14Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
15So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth [day] of [the month] Elul, in fifty and two days.
16And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard [thereof], that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
17Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and [the letters] of Tobiah came unto them.
18For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah to wife.
19Also they spake of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. [And] Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
1When 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),
2Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.
3So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in 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?”
4They contacted me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time.
5The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand.
6Written in it were the following words: “Among the nations it is rumored (and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king.
7You have also established prophets to announce 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.”
8I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. All of this is a figment of your imagination.”
9All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.” So now, strengthen my hands!
10Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. 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.”
11But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life? I will not go!”
12I 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.
13He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I would be discredited.
14Remember, 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!
15So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in just fifty-two days.
16When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw this, they were greatly disheartened. They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
17In those days the aristocrats of Judah repeatedly sent letters to Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them.
18For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.
19They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said. Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare me.
1Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though even to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates)
2Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to harm me.
3I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I can’t come down. Why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?”
4They sent to me four times like this; and I answered them the same way.
5Then Sanballat sent his servant to me the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,
6in which was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel. Because of that, you are building the wall. You would be their king, according to these words.
7You have also appointed prophets to proclaim of you at Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.”
8Then I sent to him, saying, “There are no such things done as you say, but you imagine them out of your own heart.”
9For they all would have made us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done.” But now, strengthen my hands.
10I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home; and he said, “Let us meet together in God’s house, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to kill you. Yes, in the night will they come to kill you.”
11I said, “Should a man like me flee? Who is there that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”
12I discerned, and behold, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13He hired so that I would be afraid, do so, and sin, and that they might have material for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
14“Remember, my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.”
15So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations that were around us were afraid, and they lost their confidence; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
17Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.
18For there were many in Judah sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as wife.
19Also they spoke of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
Summary
Sanballat and Tobiah try four times to lure Nehemiah into a meeting to harm him, then attempt to intimidate him through a false prophet. Nehemiah discerns the schemes and refuses to stop, and the wall is completed in just fifty-two days, astonishing the surrounding nations.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Susa (Shushan) — the Persian winter capital in modern Iran, where Nehemiah serves as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes.
- Jerusalem — the city whose walls Nehemiah rebuilds. Chapter 3 names specific gates (Sheep Gate, Fish Gate, Valley Gate, Dung Gate, etc.) tracing the wall circuit.
- The surrounding enemies occupy identifiable regions: Sanballat (Samaria/north), Tobiah (Ammon/east), Geshem (Arabia/south).
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik highlights Nehemiah's discernment in three tests: he recognized assassination disguised as diplomacy, political blackmail designed to create fear, and false prophecy designed to produce sin. Each attack required different discernment but the same principle: stay focused on God's assignment.
- Charles Spurgeon: "'I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down.' Here is the answer to every distraction, every secondary invitation, every clever attempt to pull you from your calling. The devil rarely tempts busy workers with obvious evil — he invites them to conferences, to meetings, to things that seem reasonable but would remove them from their post. Nehemiah saw through it: 'Why should the work cease?' Ask that question of every invitation that would pull you from God's assigned task. And when a prophet counseled him to flee into the Temple, Nehemiah asked the killer question: 'Should such a man as I flee?' Character and calling together produced an unshakeable refusal. The wall was finished in fifty-two days — and the heathen fell in their own eyes. When God's people finish what God started, even enemies confess it is divine."
Reflection
- 1. Know your great work and refuse to come down (v.3). What has God assigned to you? Identify it clearly and protect it fiercely. Every distraction — however reasonable — that pulls you from your calling is an enemy invitation to "the plain of Ono." Practice saying: "I am doing a great work and cannot come down."
- 2. Discern false spiritual counsel by testing it against Scripture (vv.10-13). The false prophet's advice sounded spiritual but contradicted God's law. True guidance never violates Scripture — no matter how urgent or pious it sounds. When someone gives you "spiritual" counsel that would require you to disobey God's word, recognize it as the enemy's voice, however religious the packaging.
- 3. Courage is not the absence of fear but refusal to be governed by it (v.11). "Should such a man as I flee?" Nehemiah was afraid (v.9 admits it), but he would not let fear dictate action. Your position, your calling, your responsibility — these demand courage even when you're scared. Fear is a feeling; courage is a choice.
- 4. God makes His work self-evident (v.16). The enemies "perceived that this work was wrought of our God." You don't always need to argue for God's involvement — sometimes the finished work speaks for itself. Focus on faithful completion; God will make the divine origin evident to observers.
- 5. Internal compromise is ongoing (vv.17-19). Even after the wall was done, Tobiah maintained an espionage network through family connections. Victory doesn't eliminate infiltration. Stay vigilant against internal compromise even after external opposition is defeated.