Nehemiah 6:3 (GNV)

Passage

Therefore I sent messengers vnto them, saying, I haue a great worke to doe, and I can not come downe: why should the worke cease, whiles I leaue it, and come downe to you?

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:1 And when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall, and that there were no more breaches therein, (though at that time I had not set vp the doores vpon the gates)

Nehemiah 6:2 Then sent Sanballat and Geshem vnto me, saying, Come thou that we may meete together in the villages in the plaine of Ono: and they thought to doe me euill.

Nehemiah 6:3 Therefore I sent messengers vnto them, saying, I haue a great worke to doe, and I can not come downe: why should the worke cease, whiles I leaue it, and come downe to you?

Nehemiah 6:4 Yet they sent vnto me foure times after this sort. And I answered them after the same maner.

Nehemiah 6:5 Then sent Sanballat his seruant after this sorte vnto me the fift time, with an open letter in his hand,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "sent", "messengers", "vnto", "saying", "haue", "great", and "worke". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "sent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Then sent Sanballat and Geshem vnto me..." into verse 4's "Yet they sent vnto me foure times...", so "therefore" 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 "therefore" and "sent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.