Nehemiah 6:13 (DRB)

Passage

For he had taken money, that I being afraid should do this thing, and sin, and they might have some evil to upbraid me withal.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:11 And I said: Should such a man as I flee? and who is there that being as I am, would go into the temple, to save his life? I will not go in.

Nehemiah 6:12 And I understood that God had not sent him, but that he had spoken to me as if he had been prophesying, and Tobias, and Sanaballat had hired him.

Nehemiah 6:13 For he had taken money, that I being afraid should do this thing, and sin, and they might have some evil to upbraid me withal.

Nehemiah 6:14 Remember me, O Lord, for Tobias and Sanaballat, according to their works of this kind: and Noadias the prophet, and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear.

Nehemiah 6:15 But the wall was finished the five and twentieth day of the month of Elul, in two and fifty days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "taken", "money", "afraid", "should", "might", "some", "evil", and "upbraid". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "taken" and "money", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "And I understood that God had not..." into verse 14's "Remember me O Lord for Tobias and...", so "taken" and "money" 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 "taken" and "money" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.