Nehemiah 6:9
New International Version
They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

New Living Translation
They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.

English Standard Version
For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Berean Standard Bible
For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

King James Bible
For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

New King James Version
For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

New American Standard Bible
For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, God, strengthen my hands.

NASB 1995
For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

NASB 1977
For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Legacy Standard Bible
For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will become limp in doing the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Amplified Bible
For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, [O God,] strengthen my hands.

Christian Standard Bible
For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will drop their hands from the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will become discouraged in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen me.

American Standard Version
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Because they were all intimidating us, and they said: “Their hands are weakened from the work”, and they were saying to us: ‘You shall not work!’” Therefore, I shall strengthen my hands.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For all were trying to alarm us, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from this work, and it shall not be done. Now therefore I have strengthened my hands.

Contemporary English Version
Our enemies were trying to frighten us and to keep us from our work. But I asked God to give me strength.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For all these men thought to frighten us, thinking that our hands would cease from the work, and that we would leave off. Wherefore I strengthened my hands the more:

English Revised Version
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They were all trying to intimidate us. They thought we would give up and not finish the work. But God made me strong.

Good News Translation
They were trying to frighten us into stopping work. I prayed, "But now, God, make me strong!"

International Standard Version
For they all were trying to make us afraid by saying, "Their hands will become tired from laboring, so the work won't be completed." "Therefore, LORD, strengthen my hands!"

JPS Tanakh 1917
For they all would have us afraid, saying: 'Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done.' But now, strengthen Thou my hands.

Literal Standard Version
for all of them are making us afraid, saying, “Their hands are too feeble for the work, and it is not done”; and now, strengthen my hands.

Majority Standard Bible
For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

New American Bible
They were all trying to intimidate us, thinking, “They will be discouraged from continuing with the work, and it will never be completed.” But instead, I then redoubled my efforts.

NET Bible
All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing, "Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won't get done." So now, strengthen my hands!

New Revised Standard Version
—for they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

New Heart English Bible
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, "Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done. But now, strengthen my hands."

Webster's Bible Translation
For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it may not be done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

World English Bible
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done.” But now, strengthen my hands.

Young's Literal Translation
for all of them are making us afraid, saying, 'Their hands are too feeble for the work, and it is not done;' and now, strengthen Thou my hands.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Sanballat's Conspiracy
8Then I sent him this reply: “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.” 9For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands. 10Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said: “Let us meet at the house of God inside the temple. Let us shut the temple doors because they are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you!”…

Cross References
Ezra 1:6
And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.

Psalm 138:3
On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.

Jeremiah 38:4
Then the officials said to the king, "This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin."

Ezekiel 30:24
I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.


Treasury of Scripture

For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

For they

Nehemiah 6:14
My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.

Nehemiah 4:10-14
And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall…

2 Chronicles 32:18
Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.

Their hands

2 Chronicles 15:7
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

Ezra 4:1-24
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; …

Isaiah 35:3,4
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees…

Now therefore

1 Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

Psalm 56:3
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

Psalm 71:1
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

Jump to Previous
Afraid Completed Discouraged Drop Fear Feeble Frighten Hands Hoping Making Prayed Slackened Strengthen Strong Thinking Trying Wanted Weak Weakened Work
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Afraid Completed Discouraged Drop Fear Feeble Frighten Hands Hoping Making Prayed Slackened Strengthen Strong Thinking Trying Wanted Weak Weakened Work
Nehemiah 6
1. Sanballat practices by craft, by rumors, and by hired prophecies, to terrify Nehemiah
15. The work is finished, to the terror of the enemies
17. Secret intelligence passes between the enemies and the nobles of Judah














(9) Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.--The answer sent was that the thing was not true, and that the report itself did not exist. The reflection in Nehemiah's journal was that they sought to make him afraid. Quoting this, he adds the prayer that he recorded when he wrote it. It is one of those sudden, interjectional petitions which abound in the narrative, and is all the more remarkable from the absence of the words "O God," which are here inserted.

Verse 9. - They all made us afraid. Rather, "sought to affright us." Their attempts did not succeed. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. "O God" is not in the original; whence some critics do not see in the words used a prayer, but only a statement - "But I now strengthened my hands" (so the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic versions). This meaning, however, cannot be obtained from the present text.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

they were all
כֻלָּ֗ם (ḵul·lām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

[trying] to frighten
מְיָֽרְאִ֤ים (mə·yā·rə·’îm)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

us,
אוֹתָ֙נוּ֙ (’ō·w·ṯā·nū)
Direct object marker | first person common plural
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

saying,
לֵאמֹ֔ר (lê·mōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Their hands
יְדֵיהֶ֛ם (yə·ḏê·hem)
Noun - fdc | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3027: A hand

will be weakened
יִרְפּ֧וּ (yir·pū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7503: Sink, relax

in
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the work,
הַמְּלָאכָ֖ה (ham·mə·lā·ḵāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4399: Deputyship, ministry, employment, work, property

and it will never
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

be finished.”
תֵעָשֶׂ֑ה (ṯê·‘ā·śeh)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

But now, my God,
וְעַתָּ֖ה (wə·‘at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 6258: At this time

strengthen
חַזֵּ֥ק (ḥaz·zêq)
Verb - Piel - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer

my hands.
יָדָֽי׃ (yā·ḏāy)
Noun - fdc | first person common singular
Strong's 3027: A hand


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OT History: Nehemiah 6:9 For they all would have made us (Neh Ne)
Nehemiah 6:8
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