Tobiah

9Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

So I went to the governors west of the great river. I gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and soldiers on horses with me.

10When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah, an Ammonite official, heard about this. It upset them very much. They did not like that someone had come to help the people of Israel.

19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

But Sanballat from Horon, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it. They laughed at us and made fun of us. They said, "What are you doing? Are you turning against the king?"

20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

I answered them, "The God of heaven will help us do well. We are his servants, and we will build. But this city is not yours. You have no share in Jerusalem and no claim here."

1But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

Sanballat heard that we were building the wall again. He got very angry. He made fun of the Jews.

2And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

He talked in front of his friends and the army of Samaria. He said, "What are these weak Jews doing? Can they really build this wall? Will they offer sacrifices to God? Will they finish it in one day? Can they make burned stones new again from these piles of trash?"

3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

Tobiah from Ammon was standing next to him. He said, "Even a fox could climb on their wall. It would fall right down!"

4Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:

Nehemiah prayed: "Listen, our God. People look down on us. Turn their mean words back on them. Let them be taken away to a far land."

5And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

"Do not cover up the wrong they have done. Do not wipe their sin away from your sight. They have made fun of us while we build."

6So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

So we kept building the wall. Soon the whole wall was joined together. It stood half as tall as it should be. The people really wanted to work.

7But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

Then Sanballat and Tobiah heard more news. So did the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod. They heard the wall was going up. They heard the holes were being filled in. This made them very angry.

8And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

They all made a secret plan together. They would come and fight against Jerusalem. They wanted to stop the work.

9Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

But we prayed to our God. We also set guards to watch day and night.

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;)

Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and other enemies heard news. The wall was rebuilt, and no holes were left in it. But Nehemiah had not yet put the doors in 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.

Sanballat and Geshem sent Nehemiah a message. They said, "Come meet us in a village on the plain of Ono." But they were really planning to hurt him.

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?

Nehemiah sent messengers back with this answer. "I am doing a big job, so I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it?"

4Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.

They sent him the same message four times. Each time he gave them the same answer.

5Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

The fifth time, Sanballat sent his servant with the message. The servant carried a letter that was not sealed shut.

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.

The letter said, "People in other lands are talking. Geshem says it too. They say you and the Jews plan to fight the king. They say that is why you are building the wall. They say you want to be their king.

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.

You even picked prophets to tell people in Jerusalem, 'Judah has a king!' A prophet is someone who says he speaks for God. The king will hear about all this. So come and let us talk it over."

8Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

Nehemiah sent back this answer. "None of that is true. You are making it up in your own head."

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.

They were all trying to make the workers afraid. They hoped the people would grow tired and stop building. So Nehemiah prayed, "My God, make my hands strong."

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.

Later Nehemiah went to see Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel. Shemaiah was shut inside his house. He said, "Let us hide inside God's temple and lock the doors. Men are coming to kill you tonight!"

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.

Nehemiah said, "Should a man like me run away? Should a man like me hide in the temple to stay alive? 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.

Nehemiah understood that God had not sent Shemaiah. Shemaiah spoke against him because Tobiah and Sanballat had paid 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.

They paid him to scare Nehemiah into hiding. Then Nehemiah would have done wrong. Then they could spread a bad story and shame him.

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.

Nehemiah prayed, "My God, remember what Tobiah and Sanballat have done. Remember Noadiah the prophetess too, and the other prophets who tried to scare me."

15So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. The whole job took only fifty-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.

All their enemies heard about it, and the nearby nations saw it. They lost their courage and felt very small. They knew that our God had done this work.

17Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.

In those days the important men of Judah wrote many letters to Tobiah. Tobiah wrote letters back to 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.

Many people in Judah had promised to stand with Tobiah. He had married the daughter of Shechaniah son of Arah. His son Johanan had married the daughter of Meshullam 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.

These men kept telling Nehemiah about the good things Tobiah did. They also told Tobiah what Nehemiah said. And Tobiah kept sending letters to scare him.

4And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah:

Before this, a priest named Eliashib was put in charge of the storerooms at God's house. He was a relative of Tobiah.

5And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.

He had made a big room ready for Tobiah to use. That room used to hold grain gifts, sweet-smelling incense, and bowls from God's house. It also held a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil that people gave. Those gifts were meant for the Levites, who helped at God's house, and for the singers, the gatekeepers, and the priests.

6But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:

While all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem. I had gone back to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in his thirty-second year as king. Some time later I asked the king to let me leave.

7And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

So I came back to Jerusalem. Then I learned the wrong thing Eliashib had done for Tobiah. He had given him a room in the yards of God's house.

8And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.

This upset me very much. So I threw all of Tobiah's things out of that room.

9Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.

Then I gave orders to clean the rooms. I brought back the bowls of God's house, the grain gifts, and the incense.