And I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, privately. He said, 'Let us meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the building, and so on until it says: I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had spoken to me as if he had been prophesying, and Tobiah and Sanaballat had hired him. For he had taken money so that I might be frightened into doing this and commit a sin.1 Pressured by the attacks of his enemies, Nehemiah enters the house of Shemaiah as though Shemaiah were his friend and brother but discovers that Shemaiah himself is a traitor and enemy, inasmuch as he had been corrupted by the gifts and friendship of foreigners. For the elect always have conflicts without and fears within,2 and not just the apostles but the prophets too lived a life fraught with dangers from the nation, with dangers from Gentiles, with dangers from false brethren.3
