Nehemiah 6:10-12

Amplified Bible

¹⁰When I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was ^[a]confined at home, he said, “Let us meet [and take refuge] together in the house of God, ^[b]within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple, because they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.” ¹¹But I said, “Should a man like me flee [in fear and hide]? Should ^[c]someone like me enter the temple [for sanctuary] to save his life? I will not go.” ¹²Then I realized that God had not sent him, but he spoke this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

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Footnotes

Nehemiah 6:10 The reason for the confinement is not given and is a matter of speculation. One possibility is that Shemaiah had become ceremonially defiled, in which case the Hebrew probably should be understood as “had been confined” because the purification process would have to be completed before he could enter the temple.
Nehemiah 6:10 Only the priests were allowed to enter the sanctuary.
Nehemiah 6:11 I.e. a man who is not a priest.