Nehemiah 6:9

9 They were all trying to intimidate us. They thought we would give up and not finish the work. But God made me strong.

Nehemiah 6:9 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 6:9

For they all made us afraid
Or you all, as Aben Ezra interprets it; or all the Heathen nations, as Jarchi; this was the design of all those scandalous reports, to intimidate them, and with this they pleased themselves, as follows:

their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done;
this they hoped would be the effect of those reports sent to them:

now, therefore, O God, strengthen my hands;
and let them not have what they will, and hope for; according to Aben Ezra, these words are directed to Sanballat, that if he was a friend, as he pretended, that instead of weakening, he would strengthen his hands by a sincere reconciliation; so Vatablus; but they are an address to God, such short ejaculations being usual with Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 6:9 In-Context

7 You've appointed prophets to announce about you in Jerusalem, 'There's a king in Judah!' This report will get back to the king. So let's talk about this.

8 Then I sent someone to tell him, "None of your accusations are true. You are making them up out of your own imagination."

9 They were all trying to intimidate us. They thought we would give up and not finish the work. But God made me strong.

10 [One day] I went to the home of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel. Shemaiah who was confined to his house, said, "Let's meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and close the temple doors. Some men are coming at night to kill you."

11 But I asked, "Should a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I won't go."