Nehemiah 6:10
Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
Nehemiah went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up in his house, and there Shemaiah urged him to meet together inside the house of God within the temple and to shut the temple doors. He pressed this hiding as shelter from a claimed threat of murder, insisting that enemies would come to slay Nehemiah, yea that in the night they would come to slay him. At that time the temple's walls and gates were in place, though the city gates had not yet been set up.
The warning was a false prophecy and deceptive counsel arranged by Sanballat and his allies as part of their secret schemes to draw Nehemiah away from his work so they could kill or imprison him. Its aim was to frighten Nehemiah into leaving his work and committing a sinful and wrong act that would compromise his faith, make him appear cowardly, leave the city unprotected, and give his enemies grounds to discredit him. Nehemiah recognized this counsel, given under the appearance of warning of danger, as a trap.
The verse shows that God's workers face danger not only from open enemies but also from pretended friends, and that contempt and discouragement can give way to cruel and violent measures when the opportunity comes. The episode therefore teaches God's workers to reject counsel that draws them away from duty or urges union with determined opponents, even when it comes from people who claim piety or were once in a trusted position. The account sets falsehood and treachery against nobility and devotion as opposing examples, leaving people free to choose between them and their contrasting results.