Nehemiah 6 · Verse 10

Nehemiah 6:10

Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, 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.
Nehemiah 6:10, King James Version

Nehemiah 6:10 in other translations

BSBLater, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said: “Let us meet at the house of God inside the temple. Let us shut the temple doors because they are coming to kill you— by night they are coming to kill you!”
WEBI went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home; and he said, “Let us meet together in God’s house, within the temple, and let’s shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to kill you. Yes, in the night they will come to kill you.”
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd I have entered the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabeel--and he is restrained--and he saith, ‘Let us meet at the house of God, at the inside of the temple, and we shut the doors of the temple, for they are coming in to slay thee--yea, by night they are coming in to slay thee.'
DARBYAnd I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who had shut himself 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 are coming to kill thee; even in the night are they coming to kill thee.
BBEAnd I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us have a meeting in the house of God, inside the Temple, and let the doors be shut: for they will come to put you to death; truly, in the night they will come to put you to death.
WebsterAfterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, 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.

What does Nehemiah 6:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 6:10-14
10-14. Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah, &c.--This man was the son of a priest, who was an intimate and confidential friend of Nehemiah. The young man claimed to be endowed with the gift of prophecy. Having been secretly bribed by Sanballat, he, in his pretended capacity of prophet, told Nehemiah that his enemies were that night to make an attempt upon his life. He advised him, at the same time, to consult his safety by concealing himself in the sanctuary, a crypt which, from its sanctity, was strong and secure. But the noble-minded governor determined at all hazards to remain at his post, and not bring discredit on the cause of God and religion by his unworthy cowardice in leaving the temple and city unprotected. This plot, together with a secret collusion between the enemy and the nobles of Judah who were favorably disposed towards the bad Samaritan in consequence of his Jewish connections (Ne 6:18), the undaunted courage and vigilance of Nehemiah were enabled, with the blessing of God, to defeat, and the erection of the walls thus built in troublous times (Da 9:25) was happily completed (Ne 6:15) in the brief space of fifty-two days. So rapid execution, even supposing some parts of the old wall standing, cannot be sufficiently accounted for, except by the consideration that the builders labored with the ardor of religious zeal, as men employed in the work of God.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 Who was shut up - Lived in a sequestered, solitary state; pretending to sanctity, and to close intercourse with God. Let us meet together in the house of God - The meaning is, "Shut yourself up in the temple; appear to have taken sanctuary there, for in it alone can you find safety." This he said to discourage and disgrace him, and to ruin the people; for, had Nehemiah taken his advice, the people would have been without a leader, their enemies would have come upon them at once, and they would have been an easy prey. Besides, had Nehemiah done this, he would have been shut up in the temple, his government would have been declared at an end, and Sanballat would have assumed the reins.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Nehemiah 6:10-14
The greatest mischief our enemies can do us, is, to frighten us from our duty, and to lead us to do what is sinful. Let us never decline a good work, never do a bad one. We ought to try all advice, and to reject what is contrary to the word of God. Every man should study to be consistent. Should I, a professed Christian, called to be a saint, a child of God, a member of Christ, a temple of the Holy Ghost, should I be covetous, sensual, proud, or envious? Should I yield to impatience, discontent, or anger? Should I be slothful, unbelieving, or unmerciful? What effects will such conduct have upon others? All that God has done for us, or by us, or given to us, should lead us to watchfulness, self-denial, and diligence. Next to the sinfulness of sin, we should dread the scandal.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Nehemiah 6:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַאֲנִי\־va.'a.ni-and IH589
בָ֗אתִיVa.tiI wentH935
בֵּ֣יתbeit[the] house ofH1004
שְֽׁמַֽעְיָ֧הshe.ma'.YahShemaiahH8098
בֶן\־ven-[the] son ofH1121
דְּלָיָ֛הde.la.YahDelaiahH1806
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
מְהֵֽיטַבְאֵ֖לme.hei.tav.'ElMehetabelH4105
וְה֣וּאve.Hu'and heH1931
עָצ֑וּר'a.Tzur[was] shut upH6113
וַיֹּ֡אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
נִוָּעֵד֩ni.va.'Edlet us meetH3259
אֶל\־'el-toH413
בֵּ֨יתbeit[the] house ofH1004
הָאֱלֹהִ֜יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
אֶל\־'el-toH413
תּ֣וֹךְTokh[the] middle ofH8432
הַֽהֵיכָ֗לha.hei.Khalthe templeH1964
וְנִסְגְּרָה֙ve.nis.ge.Rahand let us closeH5462
דַּלְת֣וֹתdal.Tot[the] doors ofH1817
הַהֵיכָ֔לha.hei.Khalthe templeH1964
כִּ֚יkiforH3588
בָּאִ֣יםba.'Im[people are] comingH935
לְהָרְגֶ֔ךָle.ha.re.Ge.khato kill youH2026
וְלַ֖יְלָהve.Lay.lahand nightH3915
בָּאִ֥יםba.'Im[people are] comingH935
לְהָרְגֶֽךָ\׃le.ha.re.Ge.khato kill youH2026

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Nehemiah 6:10

  • Jeremiah 36:5

    And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord:

  • Matthew 7:15

    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

  • Psalms 37:12

    The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

  • Ezra 10:31

    And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

  • Psalms 120:2-3

    Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?

  • 2 Kings 11:3

    And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.

  • 2 Kings 9:8

    For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:

  • Acts 21:30

    And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

  • Ezra 8:16

    Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.

  • John 3:20

    For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

  • Psalms 12:2

    They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

  • Nehemiah 6:12

    And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Shemaiah.
12; Ezr 8:16; 10:31; Pr 11:9; Mt 7:15
shut up.
2Ki 9:8; Jer 36:5; Eze 3:24
Let us meet.
Ps 12:2; 37:12; 120:2,3
the house.
1Ki 6:5; 2Ki 11:3
let us shut.
2Ch 28:24; 29:3,7; Mal 1:10; Ac 21:30
in the night.
Job 24:13-17; Joh 3:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Nehemiah 6:9

    For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

  • Nehemiah 6:10

    Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, 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.

  • Nehemiah 6:11

    And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

Read all of Nehemiah 6

Nehemiah 6:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Vine luego en secreto á casa de Semaías hijo de Delaías, hijo de Mehetabeel, porque él estaba encerrado; el cual me dijo: Juntémonos en la casa de Dios dentro del templo, y cerremos las puertas del templo, porque vienen para matarte; sí, esta noche vendrán á matarte.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et moi, je vins à la maison de Shemahia, fils de Delaïa, fils de Mehétabeël (et il s’était enfermé); et il dit: Rencontrons-nous dans la maison de Dieu, à l’intérieur du temple, et fermons les portes du temple, car ils vont venir pour te tuer, et c’est de nuit qu’ils vont venir pour te tuer.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich kam in das Haus Schemajas, des Sohnes Delajas, des Sohnes Mehetabeels, der sich eingeschlossen hatte. Und er sprach: Laß uns im Hause Gottes, im Innern des Tempels, zusammenkommen und die Türen des Tempels verschließen; denn sie werden kommen, dich zu ermorden; und zwar werden sie bei der Nacht kommen, dich zu ermorden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ingressus sum domum Semaiæ filii Dalaiæ filii Metabeel secreto. Qui ait: Tractemus nobiscum in domo Dei in medio templi, et claudamus portas ædis: quia venturi sunt ut interficiant te, et nocte venturi sunt ad occidendum te.