Then I sent him this reply: “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I sent to him, saying, “There are no such things done as you say, but you imagine them out of your own heart.”
- KJV Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
- NKJV Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.”
- NASB Then I sent a message to him saying, “Nothing like these things that you are saying has been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.”
- NLT I replied, “There is no truth in any part of your story. You are making up the whole thing.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nehemiah flatly denies the charges, telling Sanballat he has invented them in his own mind. He answers slander with plain, calm truth.
Overview
Nehemiah refuses to be drawn into fear or negotiation, simply exposing the accusations as fabrications. His direct, composed denial neither overreacts nor concedes ground. This steadfast honesty before false accusation models how God's people may stand firm, entrusting their reputation to the Lord who knows the truth (1 Peter 2:23).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 52:2Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Job 13:4You, however, smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians.
- John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- Acts 25:7When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.
- Matt 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Ps 36:3The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
- Acts 25:10Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
- Acts 24:12–13Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.
- Isa 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
- Dan 11:27And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
- Ps 38:12Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 6:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.