וַיְהִי כַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַע לְסַנְבַלַּט וְטוֹבִיָּה וּלְגֶשֶׁם הָעַרְבִי וּלְיֶתֶר אֹיְבֵינוּ כִּי בָנִיתִי אֶת־הַחוֹמָה וְלֹא־נוֹתַר בָּהּ פָּרֶץ גַּם עַד־הָעֵת הַהִיא דְּלָתוֹת לֹא־הֶעֱמַדְתִּי בַשְּׁעָרִים

It was when it was heard by Sanbalat and Toviya, and by Geshem the Arabian, and by the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that no breach remained in it. The wall had not been in complete ruin, but it had been full of breaches that required repair, though they also heard that until that time, after the walls were finished, I had not yet set doors in the gates. This was a dangerous situation, as even though the city was almost completely fortified, it could still be easily penetrated.

וַיִּשְׁלַח סַנְבַלַּט וְגֶשֶׁם אֵלַי לֵאמֹר לְכָה וְנִוָּעֲדָה יַחְדָּו בַּכְּפִירִים בְּבִקְעַת אוֹנוֹ וְהֵמָּה חֹשְׁבִים לַעֲשׂוֹת לִי רָעָה

Sanbalat and Geshem sent to me, saying: Come, let us meet together in one of the small villages in the Valley of Ono. We should hold a joint conference, you, the leader of the province of Judah, with us, the rulers of other provinces. And in fact, they thought to do me harm. Nehemiah was generally suspicious of such ideas, perhaps because he was familiar with the frequent political intrigues of the Persian royal court. He was certainly wary of these men, who were hardly his friends.

וָאֶשְׁלְחָה עֲלֵיהֶם מַלְאָכִים לֵאמֹר מְלָאכָה גְדוֹלָה אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה וְלֹא אוּכַל לָרֶדֶת לָמָּה תִשְׁבַּת הַמְּלָאכָה כַּאֲשֶׁר אַרְפֶּהָ וְיָרַדְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם

I sent messengers to them, saying: I am doing a great labor, and I cannot come down. I am currently too busy for such meetings. Why should the labor cease when I desist from working and come down to you?

וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ אֵלַי כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה אַרְבַּע פְּעָמִים וָאָשִׁיב אוֹתָם כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה

They sent to me in this manner four times, and I answered them in this manner. They sent me more invitations, and on each occasion, I replied that I did not have the time.

וַיִּשְׁלַח אֵלַי סַנְבַלַּט כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה פַּעַם חֲמִישִׁית אֶת־נַעֲרוֹ וְאִגֶּרֶת פְּתוּחָה בְּיָדוֹ

Sanbalat sent his servant to me in this manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand, rather than the usual sealed communication, which meant that it could be read by anyone, perhaps in a deliberate attempt to publicize its contents.

כָּתוּב בָּהּ בַּגּוֹיִם נִשְׁמָע וְגַשְׁמוּ אֹמֵר אַתָּה וְהַיְּהוּדִים חֹשְׁבִים לִמְרוֹד עַל־כֵּן אַתָּה בוֹנֶה הַחוֹמָה וְאַתָּה הֹוֶה לָהֶם לְמֶלֶךְ כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה

In it was written: It has been heard among the nations, and Gashmu, Geshem the Arabian, says, or the body of the letter says: You and the Judeans are thinking to rebel against the Persian Empire; therefore, you are building the wall and you would be king for them and so on; the letter contained other such statements of this kind.

וְגַם־נְבִיאִים הֶעֱמַדְתָּ לִקְרֹא עָלֶיךָ בִירוּשָׁלִַם לֵאמֹר מֶלֶךְ בִּיהוּדָה וְעַתָּה יִשָּׁמַע לַמֶּלֶךְ כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְעַתָּה לְכָה וְנִוָּעֲצָה יַחְדָּו

You have also appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Jerusalem, saying: There is a king in Judah, and now it will be heard by the king, Artahshasta, and so on. We ourselves do not yet believe these insinuations, but rumors abound, and they may well reach the king. Now, come, and let us confer together. Let us discuss the matter and announce together that there is no truth to these reports.

וָאֶשְׁלְחָה אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר לֹא נִהְיָה כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה אוֹמֵר כִּי מִלִּבְּךָ אַתָּה בוֹדָאם

I sent to him, Sanbalat, saying: Nothing like these things that you are saying has been, there are no plans or even rumors, for you have fabricated them from your heart. These are lies that you have made up.

כִּי כֻלָּם מְיָרְאִים אוֹתָנוּ לֵאמֹר יִרְפּוּ יְדֵיהֶם מִן־הַמְּלָאכָה וְלֹא תֵעָשֶׂה וְעַתָּה חַזֵּק אֶת־יָדָי

For they, those accusing us, all threaten us, saying: Let them desist from the labor, and let it not be done. But now, if indeed you have my best interests in mind, support me.

וַאֲנִי בָאתִי בֵּית שְׁמַעְיָה בֶן־דְּלָיָה בֶּן־מְהֵיטַבְאֵל וְהוּא עָצוּר וַיֹּאמֶר נִוָּעֵד אֶל־בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים אֶל־תּוֹךְ הַהֵיכָל וְנִסְגְּרָה דַּלְתוֹת הַהֵיכָל כִּי בָּאִים לְהָרְגֶךָ וְלַיְלָה בָּאִים לְהָרְגֶךָ

As for me, I went to the house of Shemaya, son of Delaya, son of Meheitavel, apparently an important individual, perhaps someone considered a prophet, and he was housebound, due to illness or for some other reason. He said to me: Let us meet, us two, in the House of God, in the Sanctuary, and let us shut the doors of the Sanctuary, as they are coming to kill you. At night, they are coming to kill you. Danger awaits you tonight. Since the Temple is closed and empty of people at night, you will be safe there.

וָאֹמְרָה הַאִישׁ כָּמוֹנִי יִבְרָח וּמִי כָמוֹנִי אֲשֶׁר־יָבוֹא אֶל־הַהֵיכָל וָחָי לֹא אָבוֹא

I said: Would a man like me flee? I absolutely will not flee. Who like me could come to the Sanctuary and live? Since I am not a priest, it is prohibited for me to enter the Sanctuary. I will not come.

וָאַכִּירָה וְהִנֵּה לֹא־אֱלֹהִים שְׁלָחוֹ כִּי הַנְּבוּאָה דִּבֶּר עָלַי וְטוֹבִיָּה וְסַנְבַלַּט שְׂכָרוֹ

I realized, and behold, it was not God who sent him that he spoke the supposed prophecy about me that people were planning to kill me that night, and yet that was not the word of God, as in actual fact, Toviya and Sanbalat had hired him to speak such matters to me.

לְמַעַן שָׂכוּר הוּא לְמַעַן־אִירָא וְאֶעֱשֶׂה־כֵּן וְחָטָאתִי וְהָיָה לָהֶם לְשֵׁם רָע לְמַעַן יְחָרְפוּנִי

For he was hired to issue that pronouncement so that I would be intimidated, and do so, act as he suggested, and thereby sin, and it would serve for them as a bad report, so that they could discredit me. Had I listened to Shemaya’s advice, my adversaries would have publicized the matter, which would lead to people shaming and cursing me. The advice I received from the false prophet would not have harmed me directly, but it would have led to widespread slander against me.

זָכְרָה אֱלֹהַי לְטוֹבִיָּה וּלְסַנְבַלַּט כְּמַעֲשָׂיו אֵלֶּה וְגַם לְנוֹעַדְיָה הַנְּבִיאָה וּלְיֶתֶר הַנְּבִיאִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ מְיָרְאִים אוֹתִי

Remember, my God, against Toviya and Sanbalat in accordance with these actions of theirs, and also against the prophetess Noadya, and the rest of the prophets who were threatening me. There were other prophets who sought to intimidate Nehemiah in a similar manner.

וַתִּשְׁלַם הַחוֹמָה בְּעֶשְׂרִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה לֶאֱלוּל לַחֲמִשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם יוֹם

The wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, after fifty-two days had passed from the start of the rebuilding project.

וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמְעוּ כָּל־אוֹיְבֵינוּ וַיִּרְאוּ כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתֵינוּ וַיִּפְּלוּ מְאֹד בְּעֵינֵיהֶם וַיֵּדְעוּ כִּי מֵאֵת אֱלֹהֵינוּ נֶעֶשְׂתָה הַמְּלָאכָה הַזֹּאת

When all our enemies heard, all the nations that were around us were frightened, and they were humbled in their own eyes, and they knew that this labor was accomplished from our God. They realized that our ability to complete the work in a relatively short time was thanks to divine assistance.

גַּם בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם מַרְבִּים חֹרֵי יְהוּדָה אִגְּרוֹתֵיהֶם הוֹלְכוֹת עַל טוֹבִיָּה וַאֲשֶׁר לְטוֹבִיָּה בָּאוֹת אֲלֵיהֶם

Moreover, in those days many letters of the nobles of Judah were going, were being sent by them, to Toviya, and many letters of Toviya were coming to them. Some people, who did not dare to speak against Nehemiah openly, corresponded with Toviya and his men. At that time, the difference between the Judeans and the Samaritans was not that pronounced, as the Samaritans claimed that they too were members of the people of Israel and wished to participate in the sacred construction project. Thus, various ties were established between the two groups, and many thought that this was an internal dispute between different factions of the same nation.

כִּי רַבִּים בִּיהוּדָה בַּעֲלֵי שְׁבוּעָה לוֹ כִּי־חָתָן הוּא לִשְׁכַנְיָה בֶן־אָרַח וִיהוֹחָנָן בְּנוֹ לָקַח אֶת־בַּת־מְשֻׁלָּם בֶּן בֶּרֶכְיָה

For many men in Judah were close to Toviya and were sworn to him, had established a covenant with him, because he was a son-in-law of Shekhanya son of Arah, and Yehohanan his, Toviya’s, son had taken the daughter of Meshulam son of Berekhya as a wife. They had married into the most distinguished families of Jerusalem.

גַּם טוֹבֹתָיו הָיוּ אֹמְרִים לְפָנַי ודְבָרַי הָיוּ מוֹצִיאִים לוֹ אִגְּרוֹת שָׁלַח טוֹבִיָּה לְיָרְאֵנִי

They would also say his, Toviya’s, praises before me, they would praise him to me, and in contrast, they would report my words to him. They would tell him any gossip they could find against me. Consequently, Toviya sent letters to threaten me. Although Nehemiah had arrived with royal authorization, he was new to the region and did not belong to any of the local factions. The people did not doubt his integrity, but as he was not one of their own it was only natural that they would have various grievances and quarrels with him. Even after the wall was completed, the land was not at peace. Time and again, people attempted to cause unrest in the city and help the enemies of the Judeans outside Jerusalem’s walls.