Nehemiah 5:9

5:9 Then I 1  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! 2  Should you not conduct yourselves 3  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

Nehemiah 6:16

6:16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw 4  this, they were greatly disheartened. 5  They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

1 tc The translation reads with the Qere and the ancient versions וָאוֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the MT Kethib, וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

2 tn Heb “not good.” The statement “The thing…is not good” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression which emphasizes the intended point (“The thing…is wrong!”) by negating its opposite.

3 tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

4 tc The MT understands the root here to be יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”) rather than רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”).

5 tn Heb “they greatly fell [i.e., were cast down] in their own eyes.” Some scholars suggest emending the reading of the MT, וַיִּפְּלוּ (vayyipÿlu) to וַיִּפָּלֵא (vayyippale’, “it was very extraordinary in their eyes”).