1Byggeriet fortsatte, til muren var færdig, og nu manglede vi kun at sætte de sidste portfløje på plads. Da Sanballat, Tobija, araberen Geshem og resten af vores fjender hørte det,2sendte de bud og bad mig møde dem i en af landsbyerne på Onosletten. Men jeg var klar over, at de havde i sinde at myrde mig.3Derfor sendte jeg følgende svar tilbage til dem: „Det er et vigtigt projekt, jeg er i gang med. Jeg kan ikke standse arbejdet for at mødes med jer.”4Fire gange sendte de bud til mig om at komme, og hver gang gav jeg samme svar.5Femte gang kom Sanballats sendebud med et åbent brev i hånden,6i hvilket der stod: Geshem fortæller mig, at han overalt hører rygter om, at judæerne pønser på at gøre oprør, og at det er grunden til, at I har genopbygget muren. Han fortæller mig endvidere, at du vil være konge over dem,7og at du allerede har hvervet „profeter” i Jerusalem, som skal sige: „Nu er der en konge i Juda.” Du kan være sikker på, at kong Artaxerxes vil høre om det her. Derfor må du hellere komme og drøfte sagen med mig.8Jeg sendte besked tilbage: „Du ved udmærket, at det er løgn fra ende til anden. Det er noget, du selv har fundet på.”9De prøvede blot at gøre os bange med det formål at få os til at standse arbejdet. „Herre,” bad jeg, „giv os mod og styrke til at gøre arbejdet færdigt!”10Nogle dage senere besøgte jeg Shemaja, en søn af Delaja, som var søn af Mehetabel. Han lå syg i sit hus. „Lad os gemme os inde i templet og låse dørene,” sagde han. „Dine fjender kommer i aften for at dræbe dig.”11Men jeg svarede: „Skulle jeg, som er folkets leder, flygte, fordi der er fare på færde? Desuden har jeg ikke lov til at gå ind i templet, når jeg hverken er præst eller levit.”12-13Det var ikke svært at regne ud, at Shemajas budskab ikke var fra Gud, men at Tobija og Sanballat havde betalt ham for at gøre mig bange og lokke mig ind i templet, så de bagefter havde noget at anklage mig for.14Min Gud, det er op til dig at straffe Tobija, Sanballat, den kvindelige profet Noadja og de andre profeter, som har forsøgt at tage modet fra mig.15Den 25. dag i elul[1] måned var muren færdig, kun 52 dage efter at vi havde påbegyndt arbejdet.16Da vores fjender og de omkringboende folk hørte, at arbejdet var fuldført, blev de bange og modløse, for de forstod, at det var vores Gud, der havde hjulpet os.17I løbet af de 52 dage udvekslede Tobija adskillige breve med overklassen i Juda.18Mange af dem havde svoret ham troskab, fordi han var svigersøn til Shekanja, en søn af Ara, og fordi hans søn Johanan var gift med en datter af Meshullam, en søn af Berekja.19Alle forsøgte de at overbevise mig om, hvor god Tobija var, hvorefter de løb tilbage og fortalte ham alt, hvad jeg havde sagt om ham. Tobija sendte mig en masse trusselsbreve for at tage modet fra mig.
1Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), (Neh 2,10; Neh 2,19; Neh 3,1; Neh 3,3; Neh 4,1; Neh 4,7; Neh 6,6)2Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. (1.Krøn 8,12)3And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”4And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.5In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.6In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem[1] also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. (Neh 2,19)7And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”8Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”9For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God,[2] strengthen my hands.10Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” (Jer 36,5)11But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?[3] I will not go in.”12And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. (Ez 13,17; Ez 13,22)13For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.14Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid. (Neh 13,29; Ez 13,17)
The Wall Is Finished
15So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.16And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. (Neh 2,10; Neh 4,1; Neh 4,7; Salm 126,2)17Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.18For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. (Ez 2,5; Ez 8,16)19Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.