Discovery BoxNehemiah 5:9 
Context5:9 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 6:3
Context6:3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in 4 an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”
Nehemiah 13:9
Context13:9 Then I gave instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I brought back the equipment 5 of the temple of God, along with the grain offering and the incense.
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 tn Heb “[am] doing.”
5 tn On the usage of this Hebrew word see HALOT 478-79 s.v. כְּלִי.
