Then I sent to him, saying, “There are no such things done as you say, but you imagine them out of your own heart.”
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB Then I sent him this reply: “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”
- 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 plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- Job 13:4But you are forgers of lies. You are all physicians of no value.
- John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- Acts 25:7When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many and grievous charges which they could not prove,
- Matt 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Ps 36:3The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- Acts 25:10But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well.
- Acts 24:12–13In the temple they didn’t find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the synagogues, or in the city.
- Isa 59:4No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity, and speak lies. They conceive mischief, and give birth to iniquity.
- Dan 11:27As for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
- Ps 38:12They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits 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.