10 One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah. Delaiah was the son of Mehetabel. Shemaiah had to stay at home. He said, “Nehemiah, let’s meet in the Temple of God. Let’s go inside the Temple and close the doors. Men are coming at night to kill you.”
11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Should I run into the Temple to save my life? I will not go.”
12 I knew that God had not sent him. Tobiah and Sanballat had paid him to prophesy against me.
13 They paid him to frighten me so I would do this and sin. Then they could give me a bad name to shame me.
14 I prayed, “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God. Remember what they have done. Also remember the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who have been trying to frighten me.”
15 So the wall of Jerusalem was completed. It was on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul. It took 52 days to rebuild.
16 Then all our enemies heard about it. And all the nations around us saw it. So they were shamed. They understood that the work had been done with the help of our God.