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Nehemiah
Chapter Six
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Nehemiah
6:1. Now it happened when Sanballat
Tobiah
Geshem
the Arab
and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall
and that
there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors
in the gates)
YLT And it cometh to pass
when it hath been heard by Sanballat
and Tobiah
and by Geshem the Arabian
and by the rest of our enemies
that I have builded the wall
and there hath
not been left in it a breach
(also
till that time the doors I had not set up
in the gates
)
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
....
Quite finished it:
and that there
was no breach left therein;
but all was made up firm
and strong:
though at that
time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;
not upon all of them
though some might by the particular builders of them; and they all of them
might be ready made
though not as yet put upon the hinges.
Nehemiah
6:2. that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me
saying
“Come
let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they
thought to do me harm.
YLT that Sanballat sendeth
also Geshem
unto me
saying
`Come and we meet together in the villages
in
the valley of Ono;' and they are thinking to do to me evil.
Then Sanballat
and Geshem sent unto me
....
Messengers:
saying
come
let us meet together in some one of the villages;
in Cephirim
which Jarchi
takes to be the name of a place
perhaps the same with Cephirah
a city in the
tribe of Benjamin
Joshua
18:26
in the plain of
Ono;
which was in the same
tribe
see 1
Chronicles 8:12
they might pretend a friendly meeting
to
accommodate differences between them
or to converse together about the general
interest of the king of Persia in those parts:
but they
thought to do me mischief;
to kill him
or at least
to confine him; this he either conjectured from their general character and
behaviour
or he had intelligence of their design.
Nehemiah
6:3. So I sent messengers to them
saying
“I am
doing a great work
so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while
I leave it and go down to you?”
YLT
And I send unto them
messengers
saying
`A great work I am doing
and I am not able to come down;
why doth the work cease when I let it alone
and have come down unto you?'
And I sent
messengers unto them
....
He did not show any open
contempt of them
nor did he even return answer by the messenger that came from
them
but sent some of his own people to them:
saying
I am
doing a great work;
was about an affair of
great importance
very busy
and not at leisure to give them a meeting:
so that I
cannot come down;
Jerusalem being built on
an eminence
and the place proposed to meet at in a plain
going thither is
expressed by coming down:
why should the
work cease
while I leave it
and come down to you?
signifying that it would
cease if he left it; and it being of greater consequence than anything they
could have to converse about
he argues it would be wrong to relinquish it on
such an account; this was the reason he thought fit to give
but was not the
only
nor the principal reason
which is suggested in the preceding verse.
Nehemiah
6:4. But they sent me this message four times
and I
answered them in the same manner.
YLT and they send unto me
according to this word
four times
and I return them [word] according to this
word.
Yet they sent
unto me four times after this sort
....
Being very desirous of
getting him into their hands
and therefore were very pressing and importunate:
and I answered
them after the same manner;
every time as before
he
being as much bent on finishing the work as they were to divert him from it.
Nehemiah
6:5. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as
before
the fifth time
with an open letter in his hand.
YLT And Sanballat sendeth
unto me
according to this word
a fifth time
his servant
and an open letter
in his hand;
Then sent
Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time
....
In his own name
neither
Tobiah nor Geshem joining with him
he being more solicitous and anxious to get
him into his hands than any of them; and it may be
as some think
pretending
more friendship for him than the rest
and therefore writes alone
as if they
knew nothing of his writing:
with an open
letter in his hand:
which having in it an
intimation of Nehemiah being guilty of treason
anyone that would might read
it
and so spread the defamation.
Nehemiah
6:6. In it was written: It is reported among
the nations
and Geshem[a] says
that
you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore
according to these rumors
you are
rebuilding the wall
that you may be their king.
YLT it is written in it
`Among the nations it hath been heard
and Gashmu is saying: Thou and the Jews
are thinking to rebel
therefore thou art building the wall
and thou hast been
to them for a king -- according to these words!
Wherein was
written
it is reported among
the Heathen
....
Among the several
neighbouring nations; it was an affair that was not whispered about among a few
only; it was common talk
it was in every body's mouth in divers nations:
and Gashmu
saith it;
the same with Geshem the
Arabian; he affirms it
and will abide by his assertion
and engages to make
good what he says; he mentions him by name
who he knew would not be offended
with him for making use of it
and who doubtless agreed that he should; that
Nehemiah might not think this was the talk of some of the lower rank of the
people
but even was averred by no less than the king's governor in Arabia:
that thou and
the Jews think to rebel;
that they had formed a
scheme
and were taking measures to raise a rebellion against the king of
Persia
and revolt from him:
for which cause
thou buildest the wall;
the wall of Jerusalem
for
their security against any force that might be sent to quell them:
that thou
mayest be their king
according to these words;
written in this epistle
and reported among the Heathens.
Nehemiah
6:7. And you have also appointed prophets to
proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem
saying
“There is a king in
Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come
therefore
and
let us consult together.
YLT And also
prophets thou
hast appointed to call for thee in Jerusalem
saying
A king [is] in Judah
and
now it is heard by the king according to these words; and now come
and we take
counsel together.'
And thou hast
also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem
....
This he said to cover what
he and Tobiah had been doing
tampering with
corrupting
and hiring the
prophets to discourage him
and put him upon methods
whereby the work would
cease:
saying
there
is a king in Judah;
besides Artaxerxes
whose
yoke they were casting off
having got a king of their own
and among them:
and now shall
it be reported to the king
according to these words;
such a report as this
and
in those very words
will soon reach the ears of the king of Persia:
come now
therefore
and let us take counsel together;
contrive the best method
to put a stop to this report
if a false one
and to wipe off the reproach that
is upon thee
and may affect us; and thus partly terrifying him
and partly
pretending friendship to him
hoped to get him into his hands.
Nehemiah
6:8. Then I sent to him
saying
“No such things as
you say are being done
but you invent them in your own heart.”
YLT And I send unto him
saying
`It hath not been according to these words that thou art saying
for
from thine own heart thou art devising them;'
Then I sent
unto him
....
Whether a letter
or a
messenger
is not said:
saying there
are no such things done as thou sayest;
that there was any scheme
formed to rebel
and make him king
or that prophets were appointed to declare
him such:
but thou
feignest them out of thine own heart;
in short
that they were
no other than lies of his own inventing.
Nehemiah
6:9. For they all were trying to make us afraid
saying
“Their hands will be weakened in the work
and it will not be done.” Now
therefore
O God
strengthen my hands.
YLT for all of them are
making us afraid
saying
`Their hands are too feeble for the work
and it is
not done;' and now
strengthen Thou my hands.
For they all
made us afraid
....
Or you all
as Aben Ezra
interprets it; or all the Heathen nations
as Jarchi; this was the design of
all those scandalous reports
to intimidate them
and with this they pleased
themselves
as follows:
their hands
shall be weakened from the work
that it be not done;
this they hoped would be
the effect of those reports sent to them:
now
therefore
O God
strengthen my hands;
and let them not have what
they will
and hope for; according to Aben Ezra
these words are directed to
Sanballat
that if he was a friend
as he pretended
that instead of weakening
he would strengthen his hands by a sincere reconciliation; so Vatablus; but
they are an address to God
such short ejaculations being usual with Nehemiah.
Nehemiah
6:10. Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the
son of Delaiah
the son of Mehetabel
who was a secret informer; and he
said
“Let us meet together in the house of God
within the temple
and let us
close the doors of the temple
for they are coming to kill you; indeed
at
night they will come to kill you.”
YLT And I have entered the
house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah
son of Mehetabeel -- and he is restrained --
and he saith
`Let us meet at the house of God
at the inside of the temple
and we shut the doors of the temple
for they are coming in to slay thee --
yea
by night they are coming in to slay thee.'
Afterward I
came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah
the son of Mehetabeel
who
was shut up
....
Either in his own house
or in a chamber in the temple
as if he had given himself up to meditation
fasting
and prayer; or
as he might suggest to Nehemiah
for his safety
and
so designed it as an example to him; this man might be a priest of the course
of Delaiah
1
Chronicles 24:18 or however he was a person Nehemiah had a good
opinion of
and came to him on the letters sent to him by his enemies
to
consult with him
and the rest
since they had suggested that he had appointed
prophets to speak of him as a king:
and he said let
us meet together in the house of God
within the temple
and let us shut the
doors of the temple;
this looks as if he was in
his own house
or if in a chamber of the temple
that he thought that was not
secret and safe enough
and therefore proposed going within the temple
into
the holy place
where none but priests might go:
for they will
come to slay thee;
meaning his enemies
Sanballat and his companions:
yea
in the
night they will come to slay thee;
that very night
and
therefore no time should be lost in providing for his safety.
Nehemiah
6:11. And I said
“Should such a man as I flee? And
who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I
will not go in!”
YLT And I say
`A man such
as I -- doth he flee? and who as I
that doth go in unto the temple
and live?
-- I do not go in.'
And I said
should such a man as I flee?....
The king's commissioner
who had the conducting and management of the whole affair of building the wall
of Jerusalem
on whom it wholly depended; for
should he absent himself
the
people would depart and leave their work
and the city and wall be left
defenceless
which was what was hoped for from this scheme; and who had
expressed such confidence in God
and had had such success:
and who is
there
that
being as I am;
in such a post
and in
such circumstances
and on whom so much depended:
would go into
the temple to save his life?
or where there was little
reason to believe it would be preserved long
should he take such a step as
that:
I will not go
in; as being neither lawful
nor honourable
nor safe.
Nehemiah
6:12. Then I perceived that God had not sent him at
all
but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and
Sanballat had hired him.
YLT And I discern
and lo
God hath not sent him
for in the prophecy he hath spoken unto me both Tobiah
and Sanballat hired him
And
lo
I perceived
that God had not sent him
....
Because he advised to that
which was against the cause of God and true religion:
but that he
pronounced the prophecy against me;
for by fleeing
as he
advised
it would seem that he was guilty of the crimes of rebellion and
treason he was charged with; and leaving the people
as they would in course
break up
he himself could not be long in safety
no
not in the temple:
for Tobiah and
Sanballat had hired him;
this he found out
afterwards
on purpose to intimidate him
and take such measures as that
thereby he would lose his character and his influence.
Nehemiah
6:13. For this reason he was hired
that I
should be afraid and act that way and sin
so that they might have cause
for an evil report
that they might reproach me.
YLT so that he [is] an
hireling
that I may fear and do so
and I had sinned
and it had been to them
for an evil name that they may reproach me.
Therefore was
he hired
that I should be afraid
and do so
and sin
....
By distrusting the power
and providence of God to protect him
and by going into such a part of the
temple
which he
being no priest
had no right to go into:
and that they
might have matter for an evil report
that they might reproach me;
as a rebel and traitor
against the king
which had been reported of him
and which would be
strengthened by such a step.
Nehemiah
6:14. My God
remember Tobiah and Sanballat
according to these their works
and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the
prophets who would have made me afraid.
YLT Be mindful
O my God
of
Tobiah
and of Sanballat
according to these his works
and also
of Noadiah
the prophetess
and of the rest of the prophets who have been making me afraid.
My God
think
thou on Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works
....
Their wicked counsels and
schemes
and not only confound and disappoint them
but reward them as they
deserve:
and on the
prophetess Noadiah:
whom Aben Ezra takes to be
the same with Shemaiah
because he said
נועד
"let us
meet"
&c. Nehemiah
6:10
but no doubt it is the name of a woman
a false prophetess
and
was hired
and in the same scheme with Shemaiah:
and the rest of
the prophets that would have put me in fear;
and so put him on leaving
the people
and the work he was engaged in
and flee for his safety; it seems
there were more than are by name mentioned
who sought to discourage and
intimidate him.
Nehemiah
6:15. So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day
of Elul
in fifty-two days.
YLT And the wall is
completed in the twenty and fifth of Elul
on the fifty and second day;
So the wall was
finished in the twenty fifth day of the month Elul
....
The sixth month
answering
to part of August and part of September:
in fifty and
two days;
which Aben Ezra reckons
from the time that Sanballat sent his letter to Nehemiah
when no more were
wanting than to set the doors upon the gates
Nehemiah
6:1
but rather these
with Jarchi
must be reckoned from the time
the building was begun; which
reckoning back from the twenty fifth of Elul
it
will appear it was begun the third day of the fifth month Ab; nor need this be
thought incredible
considering the number of workmen
their ardour and
diligence in building
and that the walls were not wholly built all around
only repaired
and breaches made up
and much of the old materials were made
use of
which were at hand
and stone unhewed
and especially being attended
with the blessing of God
which succeeded the undertaking: nor are there
wanting examples similar to this; and as it is observed by many from CurtiusF24Hist.
l. 7. c. 6. Justin e Trogo
l. 12. c. 5.
the walls of new Alexandria
which
were sixty furlongs in length
or more than seven miles
were finished in seventeen
days; if NicephorusF25Hist. l. 14. c. 1. is to be credited
the high
walls which surrounded Constantinople
and were twenty miles in circumference
were finished in two months time. Josephus is not to be regarded
who
contrary
to the Scriptures saysF26Antiqu. l. 11. c. 5. sect. 8.
this wall
of Jerusalem was two years and four months in building.
Nehemiah
6:16. And it happened
when all our enemies heard of
it
and all the nations around us saw these things
that they were
very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done
by our God.
YLT and it cometh to pass
when all our enemies have heard
and all the nations who are round about us
see
that they fall greatly in their own eyes
and know that by our God hath
this work been done.
And it came to
pass
that when all our enemies heard thereof
....
That the wall was
finished:
and all the
Heathen that were about us saw these things;
the neighbouring nations
who not only heard with their ears
but saw with their eyes what was done:
they were much
cast down in their own eyes;
through shame and
confusion
because of their own scoffs and jeers; through grief and vexation at
the unexpected success of the Jews
and through the fear of them that was
fallen upon them
as Jarchi notes:
for they
perceived that this work was wrought of our God;
his special providence and
blessing attending it
as appeared by its being so soon effected.
Nehemiah
6:17. Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent
many letters to Tobiah
and the letters of Tobiah came to them.
YLT Also
in those days the
freemen of Judah are multiplying their letters going unto Tobiah
and those of
Tobiah are coming in unto them;
Moreover
in
those days
....
While the wall was
building:
the nobles of
Judah sent many letters to Tobiah
and the letters of Tobiah came unto them;
letters passed between
them frequently
they informing him how things went on at Jerusalem
and he
advising them to what was detrimental to the true interest of their nation;
such false friends had Nehemiah about him
and yet the work succeeded under him;
which showed it the more to be of God.
Nehemiah
6:18. For many in Judah were pledged to him
because
he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah
and his son Jehohanan had
married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
YLT for many in Judah are
sworn to him
for he [is] son-in-law to Shechaniah son of Arah
and Jehohanan
his son hath taken the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah;
For there were
many in Judah sworn unto him
....
To Tobiah
who not only in
a private manner corresponded with him by letters
but bound themselves by an
oath to him to be true to his interest
and do as he should advise them:
because he was
the son in law of Shechaniah
the son of Arah;
of a family that came up
with Zerubbabel from the captivity
Ezra
2:5 and very probably of considerable note:
and his son
Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah;
a very eminent person
concerned in building the wall
Nehemiah
3:4.
Nehemiah
6:19. Also they reported his good deeds before me
and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.
YLT also
his good deeds
they have been saying before me
and my words they have been taking out to him;
letters hath Tobiah sent to make me afraid.
Also they
reported his good deeds before me
....
Recommended him as a very
worthy man
deserving of respect and notice by Nehemiah
and to be taken into
his friendship
and admitted to conversation with him
whose counsel and advice
might be of service:
and uttered my
words to him;
reported both what he said
and did; for the word used signifies both words and actions:
and Tobiah sent
letters to put me in fear;
perceiving
by the
intelligence of his friends
that Nehemiah would have nothing to say to him
nor to do with him
he threatened him.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Nehemiah 6:6
Hebrew Gashmu