But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, hearing of it, made sport of us. They laughed at us and said: What are you doing? Will you go against the king?

Word was given to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our enemies, that I had done the building of the wall and that there were no more broken places in it though even then I had not put up the gates in the gateways. Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying: Come; let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono. But their purpose was to do me evil. read more. I sent men to them saying: I am doing a great work, so that it is not possible for me to come. Should the work to be stopped while I go away from it and come to you? They sent this to me four times. I sent them the same answer. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. There was written in it: It has been heard among the nations what Geshem is saying, / He is saying that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority. That this is why you are building the wall. They say that it is your purpose to be their king. And that you have prophets preaching about you in Jerusalem, and saying: 'There is a king in Judah.' Now an account of these things will be sent to the king. So come now, and let us have a discussion. I responded to him, saying: No such things as you say are being done. They are only a fiction you have made up yourself. They hoped to put fear in us, saying: Their hands will become feeble and give up the work so that it may not get done. But now, O God, make my hands strong.