But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
But when Sanballat from Horonaim, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arabian heard about our plans, they mocked us and looked down on us with contempt. They said, 'What do you think you're doing? Are you planning to rebel against the king?'
This verse shows how Nehemiah's enemies tried to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls by mocking the work and falsely accusing the Jews of rebellion against the Persian king.
📚 Historical Context
Nehemiah had just announced his plan to rebuild Jerusalem's walls, which had been destroyed when Babylon conquered the city. These three men were regional officials under the Persian Empire who felt threatened by Jerusalem's potential restoration. They used mockery and false accusations of treason as tactics to intimidate and halt the construction project.
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