9 for all of them are making us afraid, saying, `Their hands are too feeble for the work, and it is not done;' and now, strengthen Thou my hands.
Strengthen ye the feeble hands, Yea, the stumbling knees strengthen. Say to the hastened of heart, `Be strong, Fear not, lo, your God; vengeance cometh, The recompence of God, He Himself doth come and save you.'
And Judah saith, `The power of the burden-bearers hath become feeble, and the rubbish `is' abundant, and we are not able to build on the wall.' And our adversaries say, `They do not know, nor see, till that we come in to their midst, and have slain them, and caused the work to cease.' And it cometh to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places whither ye return -- `they are' against us. And I appoint at the lowest of the places, at the back of the wall, in the clear places, yea, I appoint the people, by their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I see, and rise up, and say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, `Be not afraid of them; the Lord, the great and the fearful, remember ye, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'
And adversaries of Judah and Benjamin hear that the sons of the captivity are building a temple to Jehovah, God of Israel, and they draw nigh unto Zerubbabel, and unto heads of the fathers, and say to them, `Let us build with you; for, like you, we seek to your God, and we are not sacrificing since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Asshur, who brought us up hither.' And Zerubbabel saith to them, also Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel, `Not for you, and for us, to build a house to our God; but we ourselves together do build to Jehovah God of Israel, as the king Cyrus, king of Persia, commanded us.' And it cometh to pass, the people of the land are making the hands of the people of Judah feeble, and troubling them in building, and are hiring against them counsellors to make void their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even till the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the commencement of his reign, they have written an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem; and in the days of Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions written unto Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is written in Aramaean, and interpreted in Aramaean. Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe have written a letter concerning Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king, thus: Then Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their companions, Dinaites, and Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites, Babylonians, Susanchites, (who are Elamites), and the rest of the nations that the great and honourable Asnapper removed and set in the city of Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, and at such a time: This `is' a copy of a letter that they have sent unto him, unto Artaxerxes the king: `Thy servants, men beyond the river, and at such a time; Be it known to the king, that the Jews who have come up from thee unto us, have come in to Jerusalem, the rebellious and base city they are building, and the walls they have finished, and the foundations they join. `Now, be it known to the king, that if this city be builded, and the walls finished, toll, tribute, and custom they do not give; and at length `to' the kings it doth cause loss. Now, because that the salt of the palace `is' our salt, and the nakedness of the king we have no patience to see, therefore we have sent and made known to the king; so that he doth seek in the book of the records of thy fathers, and thou dost find in the book of the records, and dost know, that this city `is' a rebellious city, and causing loss `to' kings and provinces, and makers of sedition `are' in its midst from the days of old, therefore hath this city been wasted. We are making known to the king that, if this city be builded and the walls finished, by this means a portion beyond the river thou hast none.' An answer hath the king sent unto Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their companions who are dwelling in Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, `Peace, and at such a time: The letter that ye sent unto us, explained, hath been read before me, and by me a decree hath been made, and they sought, and have found that this city from the days of old against kings is lifting up itself, and rebellion and sedition is made in it, and mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, even rulers over all beyond the river, and toll, tribute, and custom is given to them. `Now, make ye a decree to cause these men to cease, and this city is not builded, till by me a decree is made. And beware ye of negligence in doing this; why doth the hurt become great to the loss of the kings?' Then from the time that a copy of the letter of king Artaxerxes is read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they have gone in haste to Jerusalem, unto the Jews, and caused them to cease by force and strength; then ceased the service of the house of God that `is' in Jerusalem, and it ceased till the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Nehemiah 6
Commentary on Nehemiah 6 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 6
The cries of oppressed poverty being stilled, we are now to enquire how the building of the wall goes forward, and in this chapter we find it carried on with vigour and finished with joy, notwithstanding the restless attempts of the gates of hell to hinder it. How the Jews' enemies were baffled in their design to put a stop to it by force we read before, ch. 4. Here we find how their endeavours to drive Nehemiah off from it were frustrated.
Such as these were the struggles between the church and its enemies. But great is God's cause and it will be prosperous and victorious.
Neh 6:1-9
Two plots upon Nehemiah we have here an account of, how cunningly they were laid by his enemies and how happily frustrated by God's good providence and his prudence.
In the midst of his complaint of their malice, in endeavouring to frighten him, and so weaken his hands, he lifts up his heart to Heaven in this short prayer: Now therefore, O God! strengthen my hands. It is the great support and relief of good people that in all their straits and difficulties they have a good God to go to, from whom, by faith and prayer, they may fetch in grace to silence their fears and strengthen their hands when their enemies are endeavouring to fill them with fears and weaken their hands. When, in our Christian work and warfare, we are entering upon any particular services or conflicts, this is a good prayer for us to put up: "I have such a duty to do, such a temptation to grapple with; now therefore, O God! strengthen my hands.' Some read it, not as a prayer, but as a holy resolution (for O God is supplied in our translation): Now therefore I will strengthen my hands. Note, Christian fortitude will be sharpened by opposition. Every temptation to draw us from duty should quicken us so much the more to duty.
Neh 6:10-14
The Jews' enemies leave no stone unturned, no way untried, to take Nehemiah off from building the wall about Jerusalem. In order to this they had tried to fetch him into the country to them, but in vain; now they try to drive him into the temple for his own safety; let him be any where but at his work. Observing him to be a cautious man, they will endeavour to gain their point by making him cowardly. Observe,
Neh 6:15-19
Nehemiah is here finishing the wall of Jerusalem, and yet still has trouble created him by his enemies.