They contacted<n id="1" /> me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand.

I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat.<n id="1" />

Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and I presented to them the letters from the king. The king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, &#8220;Come on! Let&#8217;s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim<n id="1" /> in the plain of Ono.&#8221; Now they intended to do me harm.p>

<p class="bodytext">So I sent messengers to them saying, &#8220;I am engaged in<n id="1" /> an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">I sent word back to him, &#8220;We are not engaged in these activities you are describing.<n id="1" /> All of this is a figment of your imagination.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said.<n id="1" /> Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare<n id="2" /> me.p>

So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food<n id="1" /> with others<n id="2" /> and to enjoy tremendous joy,<n id="3" /> for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.p>

and said to the king, &#8220;If the king is so inclined<n id="1" /> and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.&#8221;

Then the king, with his consort<n id="1" /> sitting beside him, replied, &#8220;How long would your trip take, and when would you return?&#8221; Since the king was amenable to dispatching me,<n id="2" /> I gave him a time.

He said to them, &#8220;Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord.<n id="1" /> Do not grieve, for the joy of the <sc>LORDsc> is your strength.&#8221;p>

But I warned them and said,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!&#8221;<n id="2" /> From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath.<n id="3" />