Again and again had Satan been defeated; and now, with deeper malice and cunning, he laid a still more subtle and dangerous snare for the servant of God. Sanballat and his companions hired men who professed to be the friends of Nehemiah, to give him evil counsel as the word of the Lord. The chief one engaged in this iniquitous work was Shemaiah, a man previously held in good repute by Nehemiah. This man shut himself up in a chamber near the sanctuary as if fearing that his life was in danger. The temple was at this time protected by walls and gates, but the gates of the city were not yet set up. Professing great concern for Nehemiah's safety, Shemaiah advised him to seek shelter in the temple. "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple," he proposed, "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."

Satan var blevet slået af marken gang på gang. Han gik nu videre i ondskab og snedighed og lavede en endnu mere listig og farlig fælde for Guds tjener. Sanballat og hans medarbejdere lejede nogle mænd, som foregav at være Nehemias' venner. Disse forsøgte nu at føre ham bag lyset, mens de foregav, at Herren havde talt til dem. Hovedmanden i dette komplot var Sjemaja, som tidligere havde nydt Nehemias' tillid. Denne mand lukkede sig ind i et kammer i nærheden af helligdommen, som om han frygtede for sit liv. Templet var på dette tidspunkt beskyttet af mure og porte, men byens porte var endnu ikke sat i. Sjemaja foregav, at han nærede dyb bekymring for Nehemias' sikkerhed, og rådede ham til at søge tilflugt i templet. Han fremsatte dette forslag: "Lad os tales ved i Guds hus, i helligdommens indre, og stænge dørene, thi der kommer nogle folk, som vil dræbe dig; de kommer i nat for at dræbe dig!"