OET interlinear NEH 1:6

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

תְּהִ֣י נָ֣א אָזְנְ⁠ךָֽ־קַשֶּׁ֣בֶת וְֽ⁠עֵינֶ֪י⁠ךָ פְתֻוּח֟וֹת

be now ear_of,your attentive and,eyes_of,your open

These two phrases mean similar things. Nehemiah says the same thing twice, in slightly different ways, to urge God to pay attention to him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases. Alternate translation: “pay attention to me,” otherwise “please listen to me and look at me.”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

אָזְנְ⁠ךָֽ־קַשֶּׁ֣בֶת

ear_of,your attentive

This request for God’s ear to be attentive refers to the action of listening. In this context, Nehemiah is asking God to listen to his prayer, with the intention that God would do something about the bad situation in Jerusalem.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

וְֽ⁠עֵינֶ֪י⁠ךָ פְתֻוּח֟וֹת

and,eyes_of,your open

This request for God’s eyes to be open refers to the action of seeing. Seeing is a metaphor meaning knowledge, perception, notice, attention, or judgment. In this case, Nehemiah is asking God to pay attention both to him and to the problem in Jerusalem.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

תְּפִלַּ֣ת עַבְדְּ⁠ךָ֡

prayer_of servant_of,your

Nehemiah uses the word servant to refer to himself. This is how a person would address a superior in order to show humility and respect. Alternate translation: “my prayer”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

מִתְפַּלֵּ֨ל לְ⁠פָנֶ֤י⁠ךָ

praying to=your=face

Here face is a metonym for the action of seeing, which is figurative way of referring to a person’s notice or attention to something. Nehemiah is repeating the fact that he is praying in order to bring these matters to God’s notice or attention. Alternate translation: “praying to you”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

הַ⁠יּוֹם֙

the=day

This does not necessarily mean on this particular day, but at this time. Alternate translation: “right now”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / merism

הַ⁠יּוֹם֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָ⁠לַ֔יְלָה

the=day day and,night

When Nehemiah says that he has prayed both during the day and during the night, he means that he has also prayed at all times in between, that is, constantly. However, he does not mean that he has prayed non-stop all day long and all night long, without doing any other activities such as sleeping or eating. Alternate translation: “constantly,” otherwise “during the day and at night”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל

sons_of Yisrael

Here sons means descendants. Alternate translation: “on behalf of the people of Israel”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

עֲבָדֶ֑י⁠ךָ

your=servants

In this context, the word servants refers to the special role that the people of Israel had in the world as a model community of God’s followers. Alternate translation: “your chosen people”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

וּ⁠מִתְוַדֶּ֗ה עַל־חַטֹּ֤אות בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֣אנוּ לָ֔⁠ךְ

and,confessing on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in sins_of sons_of Yisrael which/who sinned to/for=you(fs)

Here again sons means descendants and the phrase refers to the people of Israel. Alternate translation: “I must confess the sins that we, the people of Israel, have committed against you”

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

וַ⁠אֲנִ֥י וּ⁠בֵית־אָבִ֖⁠י חָטָֽאנוּ

and,I and,house_of father's_of,my sinned

Among the Israelites, the expression father’s house or house of the father originally described an extended-family group who lived together. It later came to be used more generally to refer to a larger clan within a tribe. In this expression, the word house describes all the people descended from a particular person. The term views all of those descendants as if they were one household living together. However, since Nehemiah is stressing his sense of personal responsibility here and identifying closely with the people in this group, he may be using the term in its original sense to refer to his nearest relatives. Alternate translation: “Both I and my family have also sinned”