Nehemiah 6:9 (LSB)

Passage

For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will become limp in doing the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:7 You have also set up prophets to call out in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ So now it will be heard by the king according to these words. So now, come, let us take counsel together.”

Nehemiah 6:8 Then I sent a message to him, saying, “Such words as you are saying have not been done, but you are devising them in your own heart.”

Nehemiah 6:9 For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will become limp in doing the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Nehemiah 6:10 Now I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.”

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.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "trying", "frighten", "thinking", "hands", "become", "limp", "doing", and "done". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "trying" and "frighten", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Then I sent a message to him..." into verse 10's "Now I entered the house of Shemaiah...", so "trying" and "frighten" 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 "trying" and "frighten" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.