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Neemias 6

ARC · Chapter 6/13

1Succedeu mais que, ouvindo Sanballat, Tobias, Gesem, o arabio, e o resto dos nossos inimigos que eu tinha edificado o muro, e que n'elle já não havia brecha alguma; ainda que até este tempo não tinha posto as portas nos portaes;

2Sanballat e Gesem enviaram a dizer: Vem, e congreguemo-nos juntamente nas aldeias, no valle d'Ono. Porém intentavam fazer-me mal.

3E enviei-lhes mensageiros a dizer: Faço uma grande obra, de modo que não poderei descer: porque cessaria esta obra, emquanto eu a deixasse, e fosse ter comvosco?

4E da mesma maneira enviaram a mim quatro vezes; e da mesma maneira lhes respondi.

5Então Sanballat da mesma maneira a quinta vez me enviou seu moço com uma carta aberta na sua mão;

6E na qual estava escripto: Entre as gentes se ouviu, e Gusmu diz: Tu e os judeos intentaes rebellar-vos, pelo que edificas o muro; e tu te farás rei d'elles segundo estas palavras;

7E que pozeste prophetas, para prégarem de ti em Jerusalem, dizendo: Este é rei em Judah: de modo que o rei o ouvirá, segundo estas palavras: vem pois agora e consultemos juntamente.

8Porém eu enviei a dizer-lhe: De tudo o que dizes coisa nenhuma succedeu; mas tu do teu coração o inventas.

9Porque todos elles nos procuravam atemorizar, dizendo: As suas mãos largarão a obra, e não se effeituará. Agora pois, ó Deus, esforça as minhas mãos.

10E, entrando eu em casa de Semaias, filho de Delaias, o filho de Mehetabel (que estava encerrado), disse elle: Vamos juntamente á casa de Deus, ao meio do templo, e fechemos as portas do templo; porque virão matar-te: sim, de noite virão matar-te.

11Porém eu disse: Um homem como eu fugiria? e quem ha, como eu, que entre no templo e viva? de maneira nenhuma entrarei.

12E conheci que eis-que não era Deus quem o enviara; mas esta prophecia fallou contra mim, porquanto Tobias e Sanballat o alugaram.

13Para isto o alugaram, para me atemorisar, e para que assim fizesse, e peccasse, para que tivessem alguma causa para me infamarem, e assim me vituperarem.

14Lembra-te, meu Deus, de Tobias e de Sanballat, conforme a estas suas obras: e tambem da prophetiza Noadia, e dos mais prophetas que procuraram atemorisar-me.

15Acabou-se pois o muro aos vinte e cinco d'elul: em cincoenta e dois dias.

16E succedeu que, ouvindo-o todos os nossos inimigos, temeram, todos os gentios que havia em roda de nós, e abateram-se muito em seus proprios olhos; porque reconheceram que o nosso Deus fizera esta obra.

17Tambem n'aquelles dias alguns nobres de Judah escreveram muitas cartas, que iam para Tobias: e as cartas de Tobias vinham para elles.

18Porque muitos em Judah se lhe ajuramentaram, porque era genro de Sechanias, filho d'Arah; e seu filho Johanan tomara a filha de Mesullam, filho de Berechias.

19Tambem as suas bondades contavam perante mim, e as minhas palavras lhe levavam a elle: portanto Tobias escrevia cartas para me atemorizar.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Sanballat and Tobiah try several times to lure Nehemiah out of Jerusalem to harm him, then try to intimidate him with false accusations and a false prophecy. Nehemiah resists every trap, and the wall is completed in 52 days.

Explanation

The opposition shifts tactics once more: now it is psychological and political, with suspicious invitations, slanderous letters spreading rumors of rebellion, and even a false prophet hired to frighten Nehemiah into making a mistake that would ruin his reputation. Nehemiah recognizes each trap and responds with a line that has become famous: 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.' The wall's completion in just 52 days, an impressively short time, is credited to God's help and the people's collective determination — something even the enemies themselves recognized, losing confidence in the face of the people's success. The practical application is the importance of staying focused and not letting distractions and threats derail important work.

Fun facts

  • The speed of the wall's construction (52 days) is historically remarkable even considering that Nehemiah likely rebuilt on already-existing foundations, rather than raising everything from scratch.
  • Tobiah, even though a declared enemy, had relatives by marriage among the Jews themselves, showing how the lines between allies and opponents could be complicated and full of conflicting interests.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Neemias 6:1The opponents realize that the wall is nearly finished, with only the doors left to install — and it is precisely at this final stage that they try a new kind of attack, this time not a military one.
  2. Neemias 6:2Sanballat invites Nehemiah to a meeting in a distant village, but the text makes clear that the real intention was to do him harm. Nehemiah refuses four times in a row, understanding that leaving Jerusalem at that moment would mean abandoning the work and exposing himself to attack.
  3. Neemias 6:3This is Nehemiah's most famous answer to his enemies: he refuses to meet with them because he is doing a great work and cannot come down. He repeats this same answer four more times, without changing a word.
  4. Neemias 6:4Sanballat and his allies press the invitation four more times in a row, and Nehemiah answers in exactly the same way every time, without yielding to the pressure of repetition.
  5. Neemias 6:5On the fifth attempt, Sanballat changes strategy and sends a deliberately open letter, unsealed, so that anyone could read its contents along the way.
  6. Neemias 6:6The letter spreads a serious rumor: that Nehemiah was planning to become king of Judah, an accusation of treason against the Persian empire itself.
  7. Neemias 6:7The letter goes on to invent that Nehemiah had hired prophets to proclaim him king, and suggests, as if it were a favor, that they meet to talk about it before the news reached the king.
  8. Neemias 6:8Nehemiah denies everything directly, saying that Sanballat had simply invented these accusations out of his own head.
  9. Neemias 6:9He understands that the real goal of these threats was to discourage the people to the point of abandoning the work, and he responds with a short prayer asking for strength to continue.
  10. Neemias 6:10A man named Shemaiah, shut up in his house, tries to convince Nehemiah to hide inside the temple, claiming there was a plot to kill him.
  11. Neemias 6:11Nehemiah refuses the suggestion, saying that a leader like him should not flee and hide — and that, besides, only a priest was allowed to enter that part of the temple.
  12. Neemias 6:12Nehemiah realizes that the supposed prophecy of danger, coming from inside the temple itself, was not from God, but had been commissioned by Tobiah and Sanballat to frighten him and make him commit a mistake. It is an episode of religious manipulation used as a political weapon.
  13. Neemias 6:13Nehemiah realizes that the real plan was to make him commit a serious religious error, entering where he should not, so they could later use it against his reputation.
  14. Neemias 6:14He reveals that even a prophetess named Noadiah was involved in this scheme of intimidation, showing that the opposition used even religious figures to attack Nehemiah.
  15. Neemias 6:15The wall is finished in just fifty-two days, a short timeframe for a project of that size, which impresses even the surrounding enemies. The text attributes this quick result to the people's recognition that it was God who had done the work, not human effort alone.
  16. Neemias 6:16When the neighboring peoples see the wall finished so quickly, even they recognize that it could only have been the work of God, not human effort alone.
  17. Neemias 6:17The chapter reveals something unexpected: nobles from Judah itself kept up regular correspondence with Tobiah, Nehemiah's declared enemy.
  18. Neemias 6:18Even after the wall was completed, several nobles of Judah kept up family ties and correspondence with Tobiah, the Ammonite adversary. This shows that opposition to Nehemiah did not come only from outside: there were people within the Jewish elite itself connected to the enemy.
  19. Neemias 6:19These nobles even praised Tobiah in front of Nehemiah and reported back to him everything Nehemiah said, forming a network of informants that Tobiah used to keep trying to intimidate him.

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