CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Nehemiah 6 GNT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/nehemiah/6.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/nehemiah/6-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">GNT</a> > Nehemiah 6</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../nehemiah/5.htm" title="Nehemiah 5">◄</a> Nehemiah 6 <a href="../nehemiah/7.htm" title="Nehemiah 7">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Good News Translation</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s">Plots against Nehemiah</h3><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_1"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.1" class="v16_6_1">1</span>Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the rest of our enemies heard that we had finished building the wall and that there were no gaps left in it, although we still had not set up the gates in the gateways. </span><span class="v16_6_2"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.2" class="v16_6_2">2</span>So Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message, suggesting that I meet with them in one of the villages in the Plain of Ono. This was a trick of theirs to try to harm me. </span><span class="v16_6_3"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.3" class="v16_6_3">3</span>I sent messengers to say to them, “I am doing important work and can't go down there. I am not going to let the work stop just to go and see you.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_4"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.4" class="v16_6_4">4</span>They sent me the same message four times, and each time I sent them the same reply.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_5"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.5" class="v16_6_5">5</span>Then Sanballat sent one of his servants to me with a fifth message, this one in the form of an unsealed letter.<a href="#fn" id="link_Neh.6.5!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v16_6_6"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.6" class="v16_6_6">6</span>It read:</span></p><p class="mi"><span class="v16_6_6">“Geshem tells me that a rumor is going around among the neighboring peoples that you and the Jewish people intend to revolt and that this is why you are rebuilding the wall. He also says you plan to make yourself king </span><span class="v16_6_7"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.7" class="v16_6_7">7</span>and that you have arranged for some prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem that you are the king of Judah. His Majesty is certain to hear about this, so I suggest that you and I meet to talk the situation over.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_8"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.8" class="v16_6_8">8</span>I sent a reply to him: “Nothing of what you are saying is true. You have made it all up yourself.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_9"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.9" class="v16_6_9">9</span>They were trying to frighten us into stopping work. I prayed, “But now, God, make me strong!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_10"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.10" class="v16_6_10">10</span>About this time I went to visit Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel, who was unable to leave his house. He said to me, “You and I must go and hide together in the Holy Place of the Temple and lock the doors, because they are coming to kill you. Any night now they will come to kill you.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_11"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.11" class="v16_6_11">11</span>I answered, “I'm not the kind of person that runs and hides. Do you think I would try to save my life by hiding in the Temple? I won't do it.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_12"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.12" class="v16_6_12">12</span>When I thought it over, I realized that God had not spoken to Shemaiah, but that Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him to give me this warning. </span><span class="v16_6_13"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.13" class="v16_6_13">13</span>They hired him to frighten me into sinning, so that they could ruin my reputation and humiliate me.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_14"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.14" class="v16_6_14">14</span>I prayed, “God, remember what Tobiah and Sanballat have done and punish them. Remember that woman Noadiah and all the other prophets who tried to frighten me.”</span></p><h3 class="s">The Conclusion of the Work</h3><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_15"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.15" class="v16_6_15">15</span>After fifty-two days of work the entire wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul. </span><span class="v16_6_16"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.16" class="v16_6_16">16</span>When our enemies in the surrounding nations heard this, they realized that they had lost face, since everyone knew that the work had been done with God's help.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v16_6_17"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.17" class="v16_6_17">17</span>During all this time the Jewish leaders had been in correspondence with Tobiah. </span><span class="v16_6_18"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.18" class="v16_6_18">18</span>Many people in Judah were on his side because of his Jewish father-in-law, Shecaniah son of Arah. In addition, his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. </span><span class="v16_6_19"><span class="reftext" id="Neh.6.19" class="v16_6_19">19</span>People would talk in front of me about all the good deeds Tobiah had done and would tell him everything I said. And he kept sending me letters to try to frighten me.</span></p><a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">6.5: </char><char style="fk" closed="false">unsealed letter: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Leaving a letter unsealed was a deliberate way of making certain that its contents would become widely known.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p class="yiv9003199930MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.gnt.bible">www.gnt.bible</a> . Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at <a href="http://www.get.bible/gnt">www.get.bible/gnt</a></span></p><br /><br /><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /><br /><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../nehemiah/5.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Nehemiah 5"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Nehemiah 5" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../nehemiah/7.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Nehemiah 7"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Nehemiah 7" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/nehemiah/6-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>