Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of
Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up
Either in his own house, or in a chamber in the temple, as if he had given himself up to meditation, fasting, and prayer; or, as he might suggest to Nehemiah, for his safety, and so designed it as an example to him; this man might be a priest of the course of Delaiah, ( 1 Chronicles 24:18 ) or however he was a person Nehemiah had a good opinion of, and came to him on the letters sent to him by his enemies, to consult with him, and the rest, since they had suggested that he had appointed prophets to speak of him as a king:
and he said let us meet together in the house of God, within the
temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple;
this looks as if he was in his own house, or if in a chamber of the temple, that he thought that was not secret and safe enough, and therefore proposed going within the temple, into the holy place, where none but priests might go:
for they will come to slay thee;
meaning his enemies, Sanballat and his companions:
yea, in the night they will come to slay thee;
that very night, and therefore no time should be lost in providing for his safety.