Nehemiah 6:13 (LSB)

Passage

He was hired for this reason, that I might become afraid and act accordingly and sin, so that they could give me a bad name in order that they could reproach me.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:11 But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple just to live? I will not go in.”

Nehemiah 6:12 Then I recognized that surely God had not sent him, but he spoke his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Nehemiah 6:13 He was hired for this reason, that I might become afraid and act accordingly and sin, so that they could give me a bad name in order that they could reproach me.

Nehemiah 6:14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were trying to make me afraid.

Nehemiah 6:15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hired", "reason", "might", "become", "afraid", "accordingly", "give", and "name". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hired" and "reason", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Then I recognized that surely God had..." into verse 14's "Remember O my God Tobiah and Sanballat...", so "hired" and "reason" 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 "hired" and "reason" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.