6:5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6:6 Written in it were the following words:
“Among the nations it is rumored 3 (and Geshem 4 has substantiated 5 this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors 6 you are going to become their king. 6:7 You have also established prophets to announce 7 in Jerusalem 8 on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.” 9
1 tn Heb “sent to.”
2 tn Heb “and I answered them according to this word.”
3 tn Heb “heard.”
4 tn Heb “Gashmu”; in Neh 2:19 this name appears as Geshem. Since it is important for the modern reader to recognize that this is the same individual, the form of the name used here in the translation is the same as that in v. 19.
5 tn Heb “is saying.”
6 tn Heb “words.” So also in v. 7.
5 tn Heb “call.”
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “Let us consult together.”