Nehemiah 6:9 (KJV)

Passage

For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 6:7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

Nehemiah 6:8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

Nehemiah 6:9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

Nehemiah 6:10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.

Nehemiah 6:11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "afraid", "saying", "hands", "shall", "weakened", "done", "therefore", and "strengthen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "afraid" and "saying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Then I sent unto him saying There..." into verse 10's "Afterward I came unto the house of...", so "afraid" and "saying" 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 "afraid" and "saying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.