Nehemiah 6:11
in Nehemiah 6But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Should one like me go into the temple to save his own life? I will not go!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Nehemiah 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Would go into the temple to save his life - Rather “could go into the temple and live.” For a layman to enter the sanctuary was a capital offence (see Num 18:7).
This site's exposition
who was confined to his house
on Nehemiah 6:10-12
Nehemiah visits Shemaiah, who urges: "Let us shut the temple doors because they are coming to kill you" (6:10). Only a priest could lawfully enter that part of the temple, and Nehemiah was not one. He sees "that God had not sent him," since "Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him."
This site's exposition
Should a man like me run away
Barnes renders the second question as whether a man could go into the temple and live, for any man who was no priest died. The first question refuses flight. The second refuses a sin against the house of God.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Another might flee, but not I. Who is there that being as I am, in my post of honour, and power, and trust, would go into the temple, and lurk there, when business is to be done, yea, though it were to save his life?" Note, When we are tempted to sin we should remember who and what we are, that we may not do any thing unbecoming us, and the profession we make.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
As I - I the chief governor, upon whose presence, the very life of the whole city and nation in a great measure depends: I who have professed such resolution, and courage, and confidence in God. I, who have had such eminent experience of God's assistance, of his calling me to this employment, and carrying me through it when our danger was greater than now it is.
And I said, should such a man as I flee?....
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.
Should such a man as I flee? - Shall I, who am governor of the people, appointed both by God and the king, shall I betray my trust, and leave the flock without a shepherd? Shall I be a traitor, and abandon the office to which I am appointed? - No! Who, in my situation, with such responsibility, and such prospects, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not: I will stand at my post, and be ready to receive my enemies whensoever they come; so let Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem look to themselves.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Will a man like me flee This is a question: Will a man like me flee to enter the Temple?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And I discerned I discerned in his words that the Holy One, blessed be He, had not sent him on this mission, but that he wanted me to commit a transgression because of fear of death.
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֹמְרָ֗ה | vaomerah | and I said ! | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַאִ֤ישׁ | haish | ¿ a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כָּמ֙וֹנִי֙ | kamoni | like me | H3644 → | 143 times |
| יִבְרָ֔ח | yivrach | will he flee | H1272 → | 63 times |
| וּמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | |
| כָמ֛וֹנִי | khamoni | [is] like me | H3644 → | 143 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָב֥וֹא | yavo' | he will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַהֵיכָ֖ל | haheikhal | the temple | H1964 → | 80 times |
| וָחָ֑י | vachai | and he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
| לֹ֖א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָבֽוֹא׃ | ʾavo' | I will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
וָאֹמְרָ֗הand I said !
vaomerahH559 →5305 times
הַאִ֤ישׁ¿ a man
haishH376 →1663 times
כָּמ֙וֹנִי֙like me
kamoniH3644 →143 times
יִבְרָ֔חwill he flee
yivrachH1272 →63 times
וּמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →
כָמ֛וֹנִי[is] like me
khamoniH3644 →143 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יָב֥וֹאhe will go
yavo'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַהֵיכָ֖לthe temple
haheikhalH1964 →80 times
וָחָ֑יand he will live
vachaiH2421 →282 times
לֹ֖אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אָבֽוֹא׃I will go
ʾavo'H935 →2568 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
Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
- Psalms 53:5
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Psalms 27:1–2
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Psalms 112:7
He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 28:7
Through
Acts 21:13Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
it leads to
- Acts 20:24
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good…
- Philippians 2:17
But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
- Acts 20:24
Through
Psalms 112:6Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous man will be remembered forever.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Proverbs 10:7
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.