6:1 When 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), 6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together in Kephirim¹ in the plain of Ono.” Now their intention was to do me harm.

6:3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in² an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it in order to come down to you?” 6:4 They contacted³ me four times in this fashion; I responded in the same way each time.⁴

6:5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this fashion, he had an open letter in his hand. 6:6 Written in it were the following words:

“Among the nations it is rumored⁵ (and Gashmu⁶ has substantiated⁷ this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, you are going to become their king, according to these rumors. 6:7 You have also established prophets to announce⁸ in your behalf in Jerusalem, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.”⁹

6:8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities that you are describing.¹⁰ All of this is a figment of your imagination.”¹¹

6:9 They all were wanting¹² to scare us supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands!

6:10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to home.¹³ 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.”

6:11 But I replied, “Should a man such as I flee? Who like me would flee to the temple in order to stay alive? I will not go!” 6:12 I 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.¹⁴ 6:13 He had been hired in order to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I¹⁵ would have a bad name.

6:14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these their actions—also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were attempting to scare me.

6:15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 6:16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw¹⁶ this, they were greatly disheartened.¹⁷ They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

6:17 In those days the nobles of Judah repeatedly sent letters which were reaching Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them. 6:18 For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him, for he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah. Jonathan his son had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berekiah. 6:19 They were telling me about his good deeds and then were taking back to him the things that I said.¹⁸ Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare me.