Nehemiah 6

vayehi kha'asher nishma lesanvallat vetoviyyah ulegeshem ha'arvi uleyeter oyevenu ki vaniti et-hakhomah velo-notar bah parets gam ad-ha'et hahi delatot lo-he'emadti vashe'arim

When word reached Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a breach remained in it—though at that time I had not yet set up doors in the gateways—

vayyishlakh sanvallat vegeshem elay lemor lekhah venivva'adah yakhdav bakkefirim beviqat ono vehemmah khoshevim la'asot li ra'ah

Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us get together in Kephirim in the Ono valley”; they planned to do me harm.

va'eshlekhah alehem malakhim lemor melakhah gedolah ani oseh velo ukhal laredet lammah tishbat hammelakhah ka'asher arpeha veyaradti alekhem

I sent them messengers, saying, “I am engaged in a great work and cannot come down, for the work will stop if I leave it in order to come down to you.”

vayyishlekhu elay kaddavar hazzeh arba pe'amim va'ashiv otam kaddavar hazzeh

They sent me the same message four times, and I gave them the same answer.

vayyishlakh elay sanvallat kaddavar hazzeh pa'am khamishit et-na'aro ve'iggeret petukhah beyado

Sanballat sent me the same message a fifth time by his servant, who had an open letter with him.

katuv bah baggoyim nishma vegashmu omer attah vehayyehudim khoshevim limrod al-ken attah voneh hakhomah ve'attah hoveh lahem lemelekh kaddevarim ha'elleh

Its text was: “Word has reached the nations, and Geshem too says that you and the Jews are planning to rebel—for which reason you are building the wall—and that you are to be their king. Such is the word.

vegam-nevi'im he'emadta liqro alekha virushalai͏m lemor melekh bihudah ve'attah yishama lammelekh kaddevarim ha'elleh ve'attah lekhah venivva'atsah yakhdav

You have also set up prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim about you, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Word of these things will surely reach the king; so come, let us confer together.”

va'eshlekhah elayw lemor lo nihyah kaddevarim ha'elleh asher attah omer ki millibbekha attah vodam

I sent back a message to him, saying, “None of these things you mention has occurred; they are figments of your imagination”—

ki khullam meyare'im otanu lemor yirpu yedehem min-hammelakhah velo te'aseh ve'attah khazzeq et-yaday

for they all wished to intimidate us, thinking, “They will desist from the work, and it will not get done.” Now strengthen my hands!

va'ani-vati bet shemayah ven-delayah ben-mehetavel vehu atsur vayyomer nivva'ed el-bet ha'elohim el-tokh hahekhal venisgerah daltot hahekhal ki ba'im lehorgekha velaylah ba'im lehorgekha

Then I visited Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabel when he was housebound, and he said, “Let us meet in the House of God, inside the sanctuary, And let us shut the doors of the sanctuary, for they are coming to kill you, By night they are coming to kill you.”

va'omerah ha'ish kamoni yivrakh umi khamoni asher-yavo el-hahekhal vakhay lo avo

I replied, “Would someone in my position take flight? Besides, who such as I can go into the sanctuary and live? I will not go in.”

va'akkirah vehinneh lo-elohim shelakho ki hannevu'ah dibber alay vetoviyyah vesanvallat sekharo

Then I realized that it was not God who sent him, but that he uttered that prophecy about me—Tobiah and Sanballat having hired him—

lema'an sakhur hu lema'an-ira ve'e'eseh-kken vekhatati vehayah lahem leshem ra lema'an yekharefuni

because he was a hireling, that I might be intimidated and act thus and commit a sin, and so provide them a scandal with which to reproach me.

zokhrah elohay letoviyyah ulesanvallat kema'asayw elleh vegam leno'adyah hannevi'ah uleyeter hannevi'im asher hayu meyare'im oti

“O my God, remember against Tobiah and Sanballat these deeds of theirs, and against Noadiah the prophetess, and against the other prophets that they wished to intimidate me!”

vattishlam hakhomah be'esrim vakhamisha le'elul lakhamishim ushenayim yom

The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth of Elul, after fifty-two days.

vayehi ka'asher shame'u kol-oyevenu vayyiru kol-haggoyim asher sevivotenu vayyippelu me'od be'enehem vayyede'u ki me'et elohenu ne'estah hammelakhah hazzot

When all our enemies heard it, all the nations round about us were intimidated, and fell very low in their own estimation; they realized that this work had been accomplished by the help of our God.

gam bayyamim hahem marbim khore yehudah iggerotehem holekhot al-toviyyah va'asher letoviyyah ba'ot alehem

Also in those days, the nobles of Judah kept up a brisk correspondence with Tobiah, and Tobiah with them.

ki-rabbim bihudah ba'ale shevu'ah lo ki-khatan hu lishkhanyah ven-arakh vihokhanan beno laqakh et-bat-meshullam ben berekhyah

Many in Judah were his confederates, for he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

gam tovotayw hayu omerim lefanay udevaray hayu motsi'im lo iggerot shalakh toviyyah leyare'eni

They would also speak well of him to me, and would divulge my affairs to him. Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.