OET interlinear NEH 4:13

uW Translation Notes:

וָֽ⁠אַעֲמִ֞יד

and,I_stationed

If you follow the suggestion in the previous note for translating the last phrase in 4:12, then you could show here that Nehemiah is indicating a contrast between what the representatives wanted him to do and what he actually did. Instead of scattering his forces by sending the men from other towns home, he concentrated them visibly in Jerusalem, expecting that the main attack would come there. Alternate translation: [But] or [Instead]

וָֽ⁠אַעֲמִ֞יד מִֽ⁠תַּחְתִּיּ֧וֹת לַ⁠מָּק֛וֹם מֵ⁠אַחֲרֵ֥י לַ⁠חוֹמָ֖ה בַּצְּחִיחִ֑ים

and,I_stationed (Some words not found in UHB: and,I_stationed from_[the],lower_parts of,place from,behind of,wall in/on/at/with, and,I_stationed DOM the,people to,clans with swords_of,their spears_of,their and,bows_of,their )

Alternate translation: [I put guards behind the wall at the places where it was low or where there were gaps in it.]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

וָֽ⁠אַעֲמִ֤יד אֶת־הָ⁠עָם֙ לְ⁠מִשְׁפָּח֔וֹת

and,I_stationed DOM the,people (Some words not found in UHB: and,I_stationed from_[the],lower_parts of,place from,behind of,wall in/on/at/with, and,I_stationed DOM the,people to,clans with swords_of,their spears_of,their and,bows_of,their )

This does not mean all the people, and it does not mean every member of every family. Nehemiah is describing part of the people as if they were all of them, and part of each family as if it were the whole family. Chapter 3 describes how Nehemiah organized the work on the wall by family and community groups. He seems to have organized the defense of the city the same way. Alternate translation: [I positioned people from each family]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

וְ⁠קַשְּׁתֹתֵי⁠הֶֽם

(Some words not found in UHB: and,I_stationed from_[the],lower_parts of,place from,behind of,wall in/on/at/with, and,I_stationed DOM the,people to,clans with swords_of,their spears_of,their and,bows_of,their )

This means not just bows, but bows and arrows.