Nehemiah 6:5 (DRB)

Passage

And Sanaballat sent his servant to me the fifth time according to the former word, and he had a letter in his hand written in this manner:

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:3 And I sent messengers to them, saying: I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down, lest it be neglected whilst I come, and go down to you.

Nehemiah 6:4 And they sent to me according to this word, four times: and I answered them after the same manner.

Nehemiah 6:5 And Sanaballat sent his servant to me the fifth time according to the former word, and he had a letter in his hand written in this manner:

Nehemiah 6:6 It is reported amongst the Gentiles, and Gossem hath said it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel, and therefore thou buildest the wall, and hast a mind to set thyself king over them: for which end

Nehemiah 6:7 Thou hast also set up prophets, to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying: There is a king in Judea. The king will hear of these things: therefore come now, that we may take counsel together.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sanaballat", "sent", "servant", "fifth", "time", "former", "word", and "letter". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sanaballat" and "sent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And they sent to me according to..." into verse 6's "It is reported amongst the Gentiles and...", so "sanaballat" and "sent" 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 "sanaballat" and "sent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.