Nehemiah 6:8 (DBY)

Passage

And I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:6 in which was written: It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says [it, that] thou and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thou buildest the wall, and according to these words thou wilt become their king.

Nehemiah 6:7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning thee at Jerusalem saying, There is a king in Judah! And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

Nehemiah 6:8 And I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

Nehemiah 6:9 For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be slackened from the work, that it be not carried out. Now therefore strengthen my hands!

Nehemiah 6:10 And 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sent", "saying", "such", "things", "done", "thou", and "sayest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sent" and "saying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And thou hast also appointed prophets to..." into verse 9's "For they all would have made us...", so "sent" and "saying" belong inside that flow. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sent" and "saying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.