7. You have also appointed prophets to make this announcement about you in Jerusalem: There is a king in Judah! Now, the king will hear of these reports, so come; let’s talk together.
8. So I sent him this reply: "Nothing that you say has happened. You are simply inventing this."
9. All of them were trying to make us afraid, saying, "They will be discouraged, and the work won’t get finished." But now, God, strengthen me!
10. Later I went to see Shemaiah, Delaiah’s son and Mehetabel’s grandson, who was confined to his house, and he said:"Let’s meet together in God’s house,inside the temple itself.Let’s shut the doors of the temple,for they are coming to kill you;they are coming to kill you tonight!"
11. But I replied, "Should someone like me run away? Who like me would go into the temple to save his life? I won’t go in!"
12. Then I realized that God hadn’t sent him at all but that he spoke this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13. He was hired to frighten me and to make me sin by acting in this way. Then they could give me a bad name and discredit me.
14. My God, remember these deeds of Tobiah and Sanballat! Also remember Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to frighten me.
15. So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul. It took fifty-two days.
16. When our enemies heard about this, all of the nations around us were afraid and their confidence was greatly shaken. They knew that this work was completed with the help of our God.
17. In addition, in those days the officials of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters were coming to them.