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Nehemiah 6:3

in Nehemiah 6

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

KJV

And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

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This verse in Nehemiah 6

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

I am doing a great work - Though he knew their design, he does not think it prudent to mention it. Had he done so, they would probably have gone to extremities, finding that they were discovered; and perhaps in a formidable body attacked Jerusalem, when ill provided to sustain such a shock. They wished to effect their purpose rather by treachery than by open violence.

This site's exposition

I am doing a great work

on Nehemiah 6:3-4

Nehemiah answers with the line the chapter turns on: "I am doing a great work and cannot come down" (6:3). His question, "Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?" stands as reason enough, with no accusation made.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And I sent messengers unto them,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

His care was that the work might not cease; he knew it would if he left it ever so little; and why should it cease while I come down to you? He says nothing of his jealousies, nor reproaches them for their treacherous design, but gives them a good reason and one of the true reasons why he would not come.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

With this in view, under pretext of terminating their differences in an amicable manner, they invited him to a conference. The place of rendezvous was fixed "in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono." "In the villages" is, Hebrew, "in Cephirim," or "Chephirah," the name of a town in the territory of Benjamin (Jos 9:17;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וָאֶשְׁלְחָ֨הand I sent !

    vaeshlechahH7971 →845 times

  • עֲלֵיהֶ֤םto them

    ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times

  • מַלְאָכִים֙messengers

    malakhimH4397 →

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • מְלָאכָ֤הa work

    melakhahH4399 →167 times

  • גְדוֹלָה֙great

    gedolahH1419 →526 times

  • אֲנִ֣יI

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • עֹשֶׂ֔ה[am] doing

    ʾosehH6213 →2628 times

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • אוּכַ֖לI am able

    ʾukhalH3201 →194 times

  • לָרֶ֑דֶתto go down

    laredetH3381 →381 times

  • לָ֣מָּה<to> why?

    lamahH4100 →752 times

  • תִשְׁבַּ֤תwill it cease

    tishbatH7673 →

  • הַמְּלָאכָה֙the work

    hamelakhahH4399 →167 times

  • כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר<just> when

    kaasherH834 →5497 times

  • אַרְפֶּ֔הָI will let drop it

    ʾarpehaH7503 →

  • וְיָרַדְתִּ֖יand I will go down

    veyaradtiH3381 →381 times

  • אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃to you

    ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Matthew 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.8 worksJohn 9:4While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.8 works1 Timothy 4:15–16Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.6 worksActs 6:2So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.5 worksProverbs 14:15The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.4 worksLuke 14:30saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’4 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.3 worksActs 8:1And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.2 worksEzra 4:24Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.2 worksNehemiah 6:11But 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!”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    John 9:4

    While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

    it leads to

    • John 12:35

      Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the…

    • Ephesians 5:16

      redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

    • John 4:34

      Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

    • Ecclesiastes 9:10

      Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

    • John 11:9–10

      Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.

  • Through

    Matthew 10:16

    Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

    it leads to

    • Philippians 2:15

      so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

    • Luke 10:3

      Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

    • 1 Corinthians 14:20

      Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

On this verse

On this chapter

About Nehemiah

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah: the study guide →Read Nehemiah 6 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Nehemiah 6 →