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Nehemiah 6:13

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Nehemiah 6:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
Nehemiah 6:13 — American Standard Version

Context — Nehemiah 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10And I went unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
11And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
12And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me: and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13For this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
14Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
15So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth [day] of [the month] Elul, in fifty and two days.
16And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard [thereof], that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, etc.] By distrusting the power and providence of God to protect him, and by going into such a part of the temple, which he, being no priest, had no right to go into: and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me; as a rebel and traitor against the king, which had been reported of him, and which would be strengthened by such a step.”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“And sin - By going into a place forbidden to me, and that in such a manner, which would have been both sinful and shameful. Reproach - As a coward, and conscious of my own guilt, that they might make me contemptible and odious both to my own people, and to the king of Persia. Nehemiah 6:14”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“that I should: Pro 29:5; Isa 51:7, Isa 51:12, Isa 51:13, Isa 57:11; Jer 1:17; Eze 2:6, Eze 13:17-23; Mat 10:28; Ti2 1:7; Rev 21:8 and sin: Jam 4:17 and that they: Neh 6:6; Pro 22:1; Ecc 7:1 that: Jer 18:18, Jer 20:10; Dan 6:4, Dan 6:5; Mat 22:15, Mat 26:59; Act 6:13; Co2 11:12; Ti1 5:14; Tit 2:8 Nehemiah 6:14”
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Related study paths

Read Nehemiah 6 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification