Nehemiah 6:8
WEB
Then I sent to him, saying, “There are no such things done as you say, but you imagine them out of your own heart.”
BSB
Then I sent him this reply: “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”
KJV
Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
Matthew Henry
Hebrew interlinear
H7971
v — send
Derivation: a primitive root;
to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)
KJV: × any wise, appoint, bring (on the way), cast (away, out), conduct, × earnestly, forsake, give (up), grow long, lay, leave, let depart (down, go, loose), push away, put (away, forth, in, out), reach forth, send (away, forth, out), set, shoot (forth, out), sow, spread, stretch forth (out).
vb — send
שָׁלַח 814 vb. send
Qal
1. send: human subj.
2. send: subj. י׳ (God)
3. stretch out, esp. acc. hand
4. rarely send away: human subj.
5. let loose
Niph. letters were sent
Pi.
1. send off, away, human subj.
2.
a. send away, subj. י׳
b. give over
c. cast out
d. send out, forth
3. let go, set free
4. shoot forth branches
5. let down
6. shoot
7. Phrases
Pu. be sent off (started on journey); be put away, divorced, of wife; be impelled(?)
Hiph. and I (י׳) will send
H413
prep — near, with, among, to
Derivation: (but only used in the shortened constructive form אֶל ); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e.
near, with or among; often in general, to
KJV: about, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, × hath, in(-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).
prep — motion to
אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph), prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).
1. of motion to or unto a person or place
2. Where the limit is actually entered, into
3. Of direction towards anything
4. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against
5. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to
6. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of
7. Of rule or standard according to (rare)
8. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion
9. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to
H559
v — say
Derivation: a primitive root;
to say (used with great latitude)
KJV: answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.
vb — utter
אָמַר 5287 vb. utter, say
Qal
1. Say
2. Say in the heart (= think)
3. Promise
4. Command (esp. late)
Niph. be said, told
Hiph. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)
Hithp. act proudly, boast
H3808
adv — not, no
Derivation: or לוֹא; or לֹה; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle;
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
KJV: × before, or else, ere, except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, surely, as truly as, of a truth, verily, for want, whether, without.
adv — not
לֹא or לוֹא adv. not
H1961
v — exist, be, become, come to pass
Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);
to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.
vb — fall out
הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be
Qal
I.
1.
a. Fall out, happen
b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass
2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass
a.
(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)
(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה
b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)
II. Come into being, become
1.
a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come
b. sq. prep.
2. become
a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)
b. sq. pred. adj.
c. become like
d. sq. pred. לְ pers.
e. sq. לְ pred.
f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.
g. with עַל and לְ
h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of
III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)
1. exist, be in existence
2. abide, remain, continue
3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie
4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.
5. periphrastic conjug.
Niph.
1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass
2. be done, finished, gone
H1697
n-m — word, matter, spoken, thing, cause
Derivation: from 1696;
a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
KJV: act, advice, affair, answer, × any such (thing), because of, book, business, care, case, cause, certain rate, chronicles, commandment, × commune(-ication), concern(-ing), confer, counsel, dearth, decree, deed, × disease, due, duty, effect, eloquent, errand, (evil favoured-) ness, glory, harm, hurt, iniquity, judgment, language, lying, manner, matter, message, (no) thing, oracle, × ought, × parts, pertaining, please, portion, power, promise, provision, purpose, question, rate, reason, report, request, × (as hast) said, sake, saying, sentence, sign, so, some (uncleanness), somewhat to say, song, speech, × spoken, talk, task, that, × there done, thing (concerning), thought, thus, tidings, what(-soever), wherewith, which, word, work.
n.m — speech
דָּבָר 1439 n.m. speech, word
I. sg. speech, discourse, saying, word, as the sum of that which is spoken
II. sg. saying, utterance, sentence, as a section of a discourse
III. sg. a word, words
IV. sg. matter, affair, thing about which one speaks
H428
d — these, those
Derivation: prolonged from 411;
these or those
KJV: an-(the) other; one sort, so, some, such, them, these (same), they, this, those, thus, which, who(-m).
pr.pl.m — these
אֵ֫לֶּה pr.pl.m. & f. these
a. in appos. to a subst. with a pron. suff. (always without the article)
b. repeated, אלה … ואלה, these … those
c. with the art. (but only after a subst. determined likewise by the art.)
d. with preps.
H834
r — who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that
Derivation: a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number);
who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
KJV: × after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.
part. of relation — who
אֲשֶׁר part. of relation A sign of relation, bringing the clause introduced by it into relation with an antecedent clause.
adv — in which
בַאֲשֶׁר
a. in (that) which
b. adv. in (the place) where
c. conj. in that, inasmuch as
d. on account of whom?
conj — according as
כַּאֲשֶׁר conj. according as, as, when
1. according to that which, according as, as
2. with a causal force, in so far as, since
3. with a temporal force, when
adv — who
מֵאֲשֶׁר
a. from (or than) that which
b. adv. from (the place) where
c. conj. from (the fact) that …, since
H859
p — thou, thee, ye, you
Derivation: or (shortened); אַתָּ; or אַת; feminine (irregular) sometimes אַתִּי; plural masculine אַתֶּם; feminine אַתֶּן; or אַתֵּנָה; or אַתֵּנָּה; a primitive pronoun of the second person;
thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you
KJV: thee, thou, ye, you.
pron. 2 s. f — thou
אַתְּ, אָ֑תְּ pron. 2 s. f. thou (fem.)
pron. 2 s. m — thou
אַתָּ֫ה, אָ֑תָּה pron. 2 s. m. thou
thou
אתי, i.e. אתִּי, the older & more original form of אַתְּ thou (fem.)
pron. 2 m. pl — you
אַתֶּם pron. 2 m. pl. you (masc.)
pron. 2 f. pl — you
אַתֵּן pron. 2 f. pl. you (fem.)
H3588
conj — relative conjunction
Derivation: a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent;
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
KJV: and, (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), but, certainly, doubtless, else, even, except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, (al-) though, till, truly, until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.
conj — that
כִּי conj. that, for, when
1. that
2.
a. Of time, when, of the past
b. elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usu. represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם
c. when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though
3. Because, since
relative conjunction
כִּי אם־
1. each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause:
a. that if
b. for if
2. (About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause—
a. limiting the prec. clause, except
b. the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but
c. after an oath, surely
forasmuch as
כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as
H3820
n-m — heart, feelings, will, intellect, centre
Derivation: a form of 3824;
the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything
KJV: care for, comfortably, consent, × considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-), (hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart(-ed), × heed, × I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), × regard(-ed), × themselves, × unawares, understanding, × well, willingly, wisdom.
n.m — inner man
לֵב 599 n.m. (f.) inner man, mind, will, heart
I. seldom of things in the midst of the sea
II. elsewhere of men
1. the inner man in contrast with the outer
2. the inner man, indef., soul, comprehending mind, affections and will
3. specific reference to mind
4. spec. ref. to inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will
5. spec. ref. to conscience
6. [various]
7. for the man himself
8. as seat of appetites
9. as seat of emotions and passions
10. seat of courage
H908
v — invent
Derivation: a primitive root;
(figuratively) to invent
KJV: devise, feign.
vb — devise
בָּדָא vb. devise, invent
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Verses 1–9
Nehemiah 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.
I. A plot to trepan him into a snare. The enemies had an account of the good forwardness the work was in, that all the breaches of the wall were made up, so that they considered it as good as done, though at that time the doors of the gates were off the hinges (Neh 6:1); they must therefore now or never, by one bold stroke, take off Nehemiah. They heard how well guarded he was, so that there was no attacking him upon the spot; they will therefore try by all the arts of wheedling to get him among them. Observe, 1. With what hellish subtlety they courted him to meet them, not in any city, lest that should excite a suspicion that they intended to secure him, but in a village in the lot of Benjamin: "Come, let us meet together to consult about the common interests of our provinces." Or they would have him think that they coveted his friendship, and would be glad to be better acquainted with him, in order to a good understanding between them and the settling of a good correspondence. But they thought to do him a mischief. It is probable that he had some secret intelligence given him that they designed to imprison or murder him; or he knew them so well that, without breach of charity, he concluded they aimed at his life, and therefore, when they spoke fair, he believed them not. 2. See with what heavenly wisdom he declined the motion. His God did instruct him to give them that prudent answer by messengers of his own: "I am doing a great work, am very busy, and am loth to let the work stand still while I leave it to come down to you," Neh 6:3. His care was that the work might not cease; he knew it would if he left it ever so little; and why should it cease while I come down to you? He says nothing of his jealousies, nor reproaches them for their treacherous design, but gives them a good reason and one of the true reasons why he would not come. Compliment must always give way to business. Let those that are tempted to idle merry meetings by their vain companions thus answer the temptation, "We have work to do, and must not neglect it." Four times they attacked him with the same solicitation, and he as often returned the same answer, which, we may suppose, was very vexatious to them; for really it was the ceasing of the work that they aimed at, and it would make them despair of breaking the undertaking to see the undertaker so intent upon it. I answered them (says he) after the same manner, Neh 6:4. Note, We must never suffer ourselves to be overcome by the greatest importunity to do any thing sinful or imprudent; but, when we are attacked with the same temptation, must still resist it with the same reason and resolution.
II. A plot to terrify him from his work. Could they but drive him off, the work would cease of course. This therefore Sanballat attempts, but in vain. 1. he endeavours to possess Nehemiah with an apprehension that his undertaking to build the walls of Jerusalem was generally represented as factious and seditious, and would be resented accordingly at court, Neh 6:5-7. The best men, even in their most innocent and excellent performances, have lain under this imputation. This is written to him in an open letter, as a thing generally known and talked of, that it was reported among the nations, and Gashmu will aver it for truth, that Nehemiah was aiming to make himself king and to shake off the Persian yoke. Note, It is common for that which is the sense only of the malicious to be falsely represented by them as the sense of the many. Now Sanballat pretends to inform Nehemiah of this as a friend, that he might hasten to court to clear himself, or stay his proceedings, for fear they should be thus misconstrued; at least, upon this surmise, he urges him to give him the meeting - "Let us take counsel together how to quell the report," hoping by this means either to take him off, or at least to take him off from his business. Thus were his words softer than oil, and yet war was in his heart, and he hoped, like Judas, to kiss and kill. But surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird. Nehemiah was soon aware what they aimed at, to weaken their hands from the work (Neh 6:9), and therefore not only denied that such things were true, but that they were reported; he was better known than to be thus suspected. 2. Thus he escaped the snare and kept his ground, nor would he be frightened by winds and clouds from sowing and reaping. Suppose it was thus reported, we must never omit known duty merely for fear it should be misconstrued; but, while we keep a good conscience, let us trust God with our good name. But indeed it was not thus reported. God's people, though sufficiently loaded with reproach, yet are not really so low in reputation as some would have them thought to be.
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.
Cross-references: Neh 6:1 · Neh 6:3 · Neh 6:4 · Neh 6:5 · Neh 6:9