OET interlinear NEH 4:2

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וַ⁠יֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ לִ⁠פְנֵ֣י

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before brothers_of,his and,the_army_of Shomrōn and=he/it_said what [are]_the,Jews (the),feeble doing will,they_restore? to/for=them will,they_offer_sacrifices? will,they_finish? in,day will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris and,they burnt )

Here, face represents the presence of a person. The expression means that Sanballat was speaking personally to the other people who are named. Alternate translation: [He said to]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אֶחָ֗י⁠ו

brothers_of,his

Here, brother likely refers to Sanballat’s fellow officials. Alternate translation: [the other provincial officials]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

וְ⁠חֵיל֙ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן

and,the_army_of (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before brothers_of,his and,the_army_of Shomrōn and=he/it_said what [are]_the,Jews (the),feeble doing will,they_restore? to/for=them will,they_offer_sacrifices? will,they_finish? in,day will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris and,they burnt )

Sanballat was not speaking to the entire army. Nehemiah is using all of something to mean part of it. He is referring to the officers of the army by the name of the entire army. Alternate translation: [the army officers]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

מָ֛ה הַ⁠יְּהוּדִ֥ים הָ⁠אֲמֵלָלִ֖ים עֹשִׂ֑ים הֲ⁠יַעַזְב֨וּ לָ⁠הֶ֤ם הֲ⁠יִזְבָּ֨חוּ֙ הַ⁠יְכַלּ֣וּ בַ⁠יּ֔וֹם

what (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before brothers_of,his and,the_army_of Shomrōn and=he/it_said what [are]_the,Jews (the),feeble doing will,they_restore? to/for=them will,they_offer_sacrifices? will,they_finish? in,day will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris and,they burnt )

Sanballat actually is making a series of statements, not asking a series of questions. He does not expect the officials and officers to tell him what the Jews are doing and whether they will succeed. Instead, he is using the question form to mock the Jews. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate the ideas in his questions as a series of statements. Alternate translation: [These feeble Jews can accomplish nothing. They will never restore the city for themselves. They will not offer sacrifices. They will not finish the work any time soon.]

הֲ⁠יִזְבָּ֨חוּ֙

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before brothers_of,his and,the_army_of Shomrōn and=he/it_said what [are]_the,Jews (the),feeble doing will,they_restore? to/for=them will,they_offer_sacrifices? will,they_finish? in,day will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris and,they burnt )

The meaning of this phrase is not entirely clear. It could be that Sanballat is speaking of the Jews offering sacrifices to try to entice God to make their project successful. Alternate translation: [They will not get their God to help them]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

הַ⁠יְכַלּ֣וּ בַ⁠יּ֔וֹם

will,they_finish? in,day

In this context, the expression “day” means “a short time.” Alternate translation: [any time soon]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

הַ⁠יְחַיּ֧וּ אֶת־הָ⁠אֲבָנִ֛ים מֵ⁠עֲרֵמ֥וֹת הֶ⁠עָפָ֖ר וְ⁠הֵ֥מָּה שְׂרוּפֽוֹת

will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before brothers_of,his and,the_army_of Shomrōn and=he/it_said what [are]_the,Jews (the),feeble doing will,they_restore? to/for=them will,they_offer_sacrifices? will,they_finish? in,day will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris and,they burnt )

Here Sanballat is speaking of stones as if they could come to life and stand up straight to form the wall. Alternate translation: [They will not be able to rebuild the city walls from useless stones that were burned and turned into rubble]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

מֵ⁠עֲרֵמ֥וֹת הֶ⁠עָפָ֖ר וְ⁠הֵ֥מָּה שְׂרוּפֽוֹת

from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before brothers_of,his and,the_army_of Shomrōn and=he/it_said what [are]_the,Jews (the),feeble doing will,they_restore? to/for=them will,they_offer_sacrifices? will,they_finish? in,day will,they_restore? DOM the,stones from,the_heaps_of of_(the),debris and,they burnt )

If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this with an active form, and you could say who did the action. Alternate translation: [useless stones that someone has burned and turned into rubble]