OET interlinear EZRA 8:31

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

וַֽ⁠נִּסְעָ֞⁠ה

and,set_out,

As Ezra tells his story, he uses we and us in the exclusive sense, that is, it excludes the reader. Alternate translation: “Then we started traveling”

Note 2 topic: translate-names

מִ⁠נְּהַ֣ר אַֽהֲוָ֗א

from,river Ahava

See how you translated this name in 8:15. Alternate translation: “from the Ahava River”

Note 3 topic: translate-hebrewmonths

בִּ⁠שְׁנֵ֤ים עָשָׂר֙ לַ⁠חֹ֣דֶשׁ הָ⁠רִאשׁ֔וֹן

in/on/at/with,two ten of_the,month the,first

The first month means the first month in the Jewish calendar. You could convert the Hebrew month into an equivalent on the calendar that your culture uses. However, the Jews used a lunar calendar, so if you use a solar calendar, the equivalency will be different every year and the translation will not be entirely accurate. So you may just want to use the number of the Hebrew month. Alternate translation: “on the twelfth day of the first month of that year”

Note 4 topic: translate-ordinal

בִּ⁠שְׁנֵ֤ים עָשָׂר֙ לַ⁠חֹ֣דֶשׁ הָ⁠רִאשׁ֔וֹן

in/on/at/with,two ten of_the,month the,first

The Hebrew uses a cardinal number here, 12, but there is not a significant difference in meaning between that and the way the Hebrew uses an ordinal number, “twelfth,” in similar contexts elsewhere. If your language customarily uses ordinals for the numbers of days, you can do that here in your translation. Alternate translation: “on the twelfth day of the first month”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠יַד־אֱלֹהֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙ הָיְתָ֣ה עָלֵ֔י⁠נוּ

and,hand God,our she/it_was on,us

As in the expression hand of our God upon us in 8:18, hand here represents power and control. The expression indicates that God protected Ezra and the rest of the travelers on their journey. Alternate translation: “God protected us”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

אֱלֹהֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙

God,our

In this case, Ezra is using our in the inclusive sense, that is, it includes the reader, since he is reporting his trip to fellow believers in God. Alternate translation: “the God to whom we all belong”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

וַ⁠יַּ֨צִּילֵ֔⁠נוּ מִ⁠כַּ֥ף אוֹיֵ֛ב וְ⁠אוֹרֵ֖ב עַל־הַ⁠דָּֽרֶךְ

and,delivered,us from,hand enemy and,ambushes on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,way

These two phrases mean similar things. Ezra essentially says the same thing twice to emphasize how carefully God protected this group that was transporting so much treasure. If saying nearly the same thing twice might be confusing for your readers, you can combine the phrases into one. Alternate translation: “and God protected us from any robbers along the way” However, you could also choose to bring out the slight difference in meaning. The first phrase is more general, and the second phrase describes more specifically how someone might have robbed the group. Alternate translation: “and God protected us and prevented any bandits who were hiding along the roadways from robbing us”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מִ⁠כַּ֥ף אוֹיֵ֛ב

from,hand enemy

Palm here is another way of saying “hand,” which represents strength and power. Alternate translation: “from hostile attacks”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

וְ⁠אוֹרֵ֖ב עַל־הַ⁠דָּֽרֶךְ

and,ambushes on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,way

The abstract noun ambush refers to the way bandits will lie in wait along a roadside to rob travelers. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate the idea behind this word with a noun phrase. Alternate translation: “and from bandits who lie in wait along the roadside”