Nehemiah 6:11 (GNV)

Passage

Then I said, Should such a man as I, flee? Who is he, being as I am, that would go into the Temple to liue? I will not goe in.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:9 For all they afrayed vs, saying, Their handes shalbe weakened from the worke, and it shall not be done: nowe therefore incourage thou me.

Nehemiah 6:10 And I came to the house of Shemaiah the sonne of Delaiah the sonne of Mehetabeel, and he was shut vp, and he said, Let vs come together into the house of God in the middes of the Temple, and shut the doores of the Temple: for they will come to slay thee: yea, in the night will they come to kill thee.

Nehemiah 6:11 Then I said, Should such a man as I, flee? Who is he, being as I am, that would go into the Temple to liue? I will not goe in.

Nehemiah 6:12 And loe, I perceiued, that God had not sent him, but that he pronounced this prophecie against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Nehemiah 6:13 Therefore was he hyred, that I might be afrayde, and doe thus, and sinne, and that they might haue an euill report that they might reproche me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "should", "such", "flee", "temple", and "liue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "should", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "And I came to the house of..." into verse 12's "And loe I perceiued that God had...", so "said" and "should" 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 "said" and "should" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.