OET interlinear NEH 2:15

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

וָ⁠אֱהִ֨י עֹלֶ֤ה בַ⁠נַּ֨חַל֙ לַ֔יְלָה וָ⁠אֱהִ֥י שֹׂבֵ֖ר בַּ⁠חוֹמָ֑ה וָ⁠אָשׁ֗וּב וָ⁠אָב֛וֹא בְּ⁠שַׁ֥עַר הַ⁠גַּ֖יְא וָ⁠אָשֽׁוּב

and,I_was went_up in/on/at/with,valley night and,was inspected in/on/at/with,wall and,turned_back and,entered in/on/at/with,gate the,valley and,returned

Nehemiah continues to speak of himself as representative of the whole group. Alternate translation: “Then we came to”

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וָ⁠אֱהִ֨י עֹלֶ֤ה בַ⁠נַּ֨חַל֙ לַ֔יְלָה וָ⁠אֱהִ֥י שֹׂבֵ֖ר בַּ⁠חוֹמָ֑ה וָ⁠אָשׁ֗וּב וָ⁠אָב֛וֹא בְּ⁠שַׁ֥עַר הַ⁠גַּ֖יְא וָ⁠אָשֽׁוּב

and,I_was went_up in/on/at/with,valley night and,was inspected in/on/at/with,wall and,turned_back and,entered in/on/at/with,gate the,valley and,returned

Nehemiah is saying that because they could not continue going along the wall, they had to take a different route. You could use an introductory word like “so” to indicate this. Alternate translation: “So we followed the path of the Kidron Brook”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

וָ⁠אֱהִ֨י עֹלֶ֤ה

and,I_was went_up

Nehemiah continues to speak of himself as representative of the whole group. Alternate translation: “So we followed”

Note 4 topic: translate-unknown

בַ⁠נַּ֨חַל֙

in/on/at/with,valley

This refers to the Kidron Brook, which runs along the eastern side of Jerusalem. Alternate translation: “the Kidron Brook”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לַ֔יְלָה

night

The implication may be “even though it was night.” The slippery, uneven ground of the path along the brook would have been more dangerous in the dark. (Nehemiah is writing a chronicle of all the things he did to help the Jews, and he records specific things that required risk or sacrifice.) Alternate translation: “even though it was night.”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וָ⁠אֱהִ֥י שֹׂבֵ֖ר בַּ⁠חוֹמָ֑ה

and,was inspected in/on/at/with,wall

The implication is that from the brook they were able to look up at the wall and see its condition. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: “From there we were able to look up at the wall and see its condition.”

וָ⁠אָשׁ֗וּב

and,turned_back

This likely means not that Nehemiah turned around, but that this route brought him and the other men back to where they started. So they were able to go all the way around the city and inspect the entire wall. Alternate translation: “This route brought us back to where we started.”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

וָ⁠אָשׁ֗וּב

and,turned_back

The other men with Nehemiah also followed him. Alternate translation: “This route brought us back to where we started.”

וָ⁠אָב֛וֹא בְּ⁠שַׁ֥עַר הַ⁠גַּ֖יְא

and,entered in/on/at/with,gate the,valley

Alternate translation: “We re-entered the city through the Valley Gate”

Note 8 topic: translate-names

בְּ⁠שַׁ֥עַר הַ⁠גַּ֖יְא

in/on/at/with,gate the,valley

See how you translated the name of this gate in 2:13. Alternate translation: “the Valley Gate”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וָ⁠אָשֽׁוּב

and,returned

Here the expression probably means “and I went back home.” The implication is that no one had seen him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: “and I went back home without being seen.”