Bible Strands
Nehemiah 6:12
I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nehemiah addresses the prophet Shemaiah during a political crisis when Tobiah and Sanballat attempt to discredit him. He declares his refusal to hide in the temple after Shemaiah claims divine instruction to do so.
The words — וָ/אַכִּ֕ירָ/ה (va./'a.Ki.ra/h) translates as "and I recognized," marking Nehemiah’s decisive conclusion about Shemaiah’s motives. שְׁלָח֑/וֹ (she.la.Ch/o) means "he had sent him," directly denying divine origin for the prophet’s message.
The thread — This denial of false prophetic authority echoes Jeremiah 14:14, where God states, "I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them." It aligns with Ezekiel 13:22 and Isaiah 56:11 regarding prophets who deliver messages without commission.
Why it lands — The text demands readers distinguish between genuine divine commission and paid intimidation. It requires rejecting messages that serve political agendas rather than God’s word.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 13:22 Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,
- Isaiah 56:11 Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Jeremiah 14:14 “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.
- Jeremiah 23:16 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 23:25 “I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
- Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- Ezekiel 13:7 Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
- Acts 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.