OET interlinear NEH 5:18

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וַ⁠אֲשֶׁר֩ הָיָ֨ה נַעֲשֶׂ֜ה לְ⁠י֣וֹם אֶחָ֗ד שׁ֣וֹר אֶחָ֞ד צֹ֠אן שֵׁשׁ־בְּרֻר֤וֹת וְ⁠צִפֳּרִים֙ נַֽעֲשׂוּ־לִ֔⁠י

and=which it_became prepared for,day one(ms) ox one(ms) flock_of_sheep/goats six choice and,birds prepared to=me

Nehemiah seems once again to be leaving out some of the words that a sentence would ordinarily need in order to be complete. He probably means something like, “What was prepared for one day is as follows: One bull, six choice sheep, and birds; that is what was prepared for me.” You could simplify the sentence for your readers by not including “were prepared for me” again at the end. Alternate translation: “Each day I told my servants to prepare one ox, six good sheep, and various kinds of poultry”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

וַ⁠אֲשֶׁר֩ הָיָ֨ה נַעֲשֶׂ֜ה לְ⁠י֣וֹם אֶחָ֗ד

and=which it_became prepared for,day one(ms)

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: “Each day I told my servants to prepare” or “Each day I told my servants to serve us the meat from”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

וְ⁠צִפֳּרִים֙

and,birds

It is likely that the birds were domesticated rather than wild, and if it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term that indicates this. Alternate translation: “and various kinds of poultry”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ⁠בֵ֨ין עֲשֶׂ֧רֶת יָמִ֛ים בְּ⁠כָל־יַ֖יִן לְ⁠הַרְבֵּ֑ה

and=between ten days in=all wine in,abundance

Nehemiah is once again leaving out some words that a sentence would ordinarily need to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you express the meaning more fully. Alternate translation: “Every ten days I also had my servants bring in an abundant supply of various kinds of wine”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וּ⁠בֵ֨ין עֲשֶׂ֧רֶת יָמִ֛ים

and=between ten days

This expression means “every ten days.”

יַ֖יִן לְ⁠הַרְבֵּ֑ה

wine in,abundance

Alternate translation: “enough wine for everyone”

וְ⁠עִם־זֶ֗ה לֶ֤חֶם הַ⁠פֶּחָה֙ לֹ֣א בִקַּ֔שְׁתִּי

and,for this food/grain/bread the,governor not demand

As in 5:14, “the bread of the governor” means “the governor’s food allowance.” The implication is that, at his own expense, Nehemiah paid for all of the things he has just described. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: “I paid for all of these things at my own expense. I did not accept the governor’s food allowance”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

כָֽבְדָ֥ה הָ⁠עֲבֹדָ֖ה עַל־הָ⁠עָ֥ם הַ⁠זֶּֽה

heavy the,burden on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,people the,this

The abstract noun bondage refers to the way the people were struggling to survive in difficult times. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate the idea behind it with a verb such as “struggle.” Alternate translation: “I knew that the people were struggling to survive”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

כָֽבְדָ֥ה הָ⁠עֲבֹדָ֖ה עַל־הָ⁠עָ֥ם הַ⁠זֶּֽה

heavy the,burden on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,people the,this

Here Nehemiah is speaking of bondage or struggle as if it were a great burden that the people were carrying, making their lives very difficult. Alternate translation: “I knew that the people were struggling to survive”

Note 8 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

כָֽבְדָ֥ה הָ⁠עֲבֹדָ֖ה עַל־הָ⁠עָ֥ם הַ⁠זֶּֽה

heavy the,burden on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,people the,this

You can put this before Nehemiah’s statement that he did not accept the governor’s food allowance, because it gives the reason why he refused it. Alternate translation: “I knew that the people were struggling to survive, so I did not accept the governor’s food allowance.”