Nehemiah 6:10
in Nehemiah 6Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said: “Let us meet at the house of God inside the temple. Let us shut the temple doors because they are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I went unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Nehemiah 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWho was shut up - Lived in a sequestered, solitary state; pretending to sanctity, and to close intercourse with God. Let us meet together in the house of God - The meaning is, “Shut yourself up in the temple; appear to have taken sanctuary there, for in it alone can you find safety.” This he said to discourage and disgrace him, and to ruin the people; for, had Nehemiah taken his advice, the people would have been without a leader, their enemies would have come upon them at once, and they would have been an easy prey.
This site's exposition
who was shut up
on Nehemiah 6:10-12
Nehemiah visits Shemaiah, a man shut up in his own house who claims fear of assassination and urges a plan that sounds like safety: let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors. The advice is a trap, since only a priest could lawfully enter that part of the temple and Nehemiah was not one. His answer is the chapter's sharpest line: should such a man as I flee, and who is there, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life. Then comes the discernment that closes the scene: I perceived that God had not sent him, for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him, a plain man reading a false prophecy by the counsel it served rather than by any sign.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And I entered the house of Shemaiah, etc. Assaulted by the treacheries of enemies, Nehemiah entered the house of Shemaiah as though of a friend and brother; but he also found him to be a traitor and enemy, since he had been corrupted by the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shut up - In his chamber adjoining to the temple, upon pretense of singular devotion, and communion with God, and withal upon pretense of certain knowledge, by the Spirit of God concerning their approaching danger, from which thy could be safe nowhere but in the temple.
Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah, &c.--This man was the son of a priest, who was an intimate and confidential friend of Nehemiah. The young man claimed to be endowed with the gift of prophecy.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Who was shut up - On account, probably, of some legal uncleaness. Compare Jer 36:5.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Will a man like me flee This is a question: Will a man like me flee to enter the Temple?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
27 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲנִי־ | vaani- | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בָ֗אתִי | vati | I went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| שְֽׁמַֽעְיָ֧ה | shema'yah | Shemaiah | H8098 → | 41 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דְּלָיָ֛ה | delayah | Delaiah | H1806 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מְהֵֽיטַבְאֵ֖ל | meheitavel | Mehetabel | H4105 → | |
| וְה֣וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עָצ֑וּר | ʾatzur | [was] shut up | H6113 → | |
| וַיֹּ֡אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נִוָּעֵד֩ | nivaed | let us meet | H3259 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּ֨ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֜ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תּ֣וֹךְ | tokh | [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַֽהֵיכָ֗ל | haheikhal | the temple | H1964 → | 80 times |
| וְנִסְגְּרָה֙ | venisgerah | and let us close | H5462 → | |
| דַּלְת֣וֹת | daltot | [the] doors of | H1817 → | 88 times |
| הַהֵיכָ֔ל | haheikhal | the temple | H1964 → | 80 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָּאִ֣ים | baim | [people are] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְהָרְגֶ֔ךָ | leharegekha | to kill you | H2026 → | 167 times |
| וְלַ֖יְלָה | velaylah | and night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| בָּאִ֥ים | baim | [people are] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְהָרְגֶֽךָ׃ | leharegekha | to kill you | H2026 → | 167 times |
וַאֲנִי־and I
vaani-H589 →874 times
בָ֗אתִיI went
vatiH935 →2568 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
שְֽׁמַֽעְיָ֧הShemaiah
shema'yahH8098 →41 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
דְּלָיָ֛הDelaiah
delayahH1806 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
מְהֵֽיטַבְאֵ֖לMehetabel
meheitavelH4105 →
וְה֣וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
עָצ֑וּר[was] shut up
ʾatzurH6113 →
וַיֹּ֡אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
נִוָּעֵד֩let us meet
nivaedH3259 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּ֨ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֜ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תּ֣וֹךְ[the] middle of
tokhH8432 →418 times
הַֽהֵיכָ֗לthe temple
haheikhalH1964 →80 times
וְנִסְגְּרָה֙and let us close
venisgerahH5462 →
דַּלְת֣וֹת[the] doors of
daltotH1817 →88 times
הַהֵיכָ֔לthe temple
haheikhalH1964 →80 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בָּאִ֣ים[people are] coming
baimH935 →2568 times
לְהָרְגֶ֔ךָto kill you
leharegekhaH2026 →167 times
וְלַ֖יְלָהand night
velaylahH3915 →233 times
בָּאִ֥ים[people are] coming
baimH935 →2568 times
לְהָרְגֶֽךָ׃to kill you
leharegekhaH2026 →167 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 7:15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- 2 Peter 2:1–3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
- Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
- Mark 13:22–23
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- Acts 20:29–31
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
- 1 John 4:1
Through
Psalms 37:12The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
it leads to
- Psalms 35:16
Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
- Micah 2:1
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Psalms 35:16
Through
2 Chronicles 29:7They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn incense or present burnt offerings in the Holy Place of the God of Israel.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 28:24
Then Ahaz gathered up the articles of the house of God, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the house of the LORD, and set up altars of his own on every street…
- 2 Chronicles 28:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Nehemiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.
