OET interlinear NEH 5:5

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

וְ⁠עַתָּ֗ה

and=now

This term indicates that the sentence that follows is a further development of the thought from the previous sentence.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

כִּ⁠בְשַׂ֤ר אַחֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙ בְּשָׂרֵ֔⁠נוּ כִּ⁠בְנֵי⁠הֶ֖ם בָּנֵ֑י⁠נוּ

like,flesh brothers,our flesh,our as,children,their children,our

Here the Jews are insisting that they are of the same Jewish descent as the other Jews and that they of the same importance as the others. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly. Alternate translation: “Yet our families are Jews just like the other Jews’ families, and our children are just as important to us as their children are to them”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

כִּ⁠בְשַׂ֤ר אַחֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙ בְּשָׂרֵ֔⁠נוּ כִּ⁠בְנֵי⁠הֶ֖ם בָּנֵ֑י⁠נוּ

like,flesh brothers,our flesh,our as,children,their children,our

These two phrases mean similar things. The people complaining to Nehemiah are using the repetition to emphasize how shameful it is for the wealthy and powerful to sell their own fellow Jews into slavery. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases. Alternate translation: “And we are Jews, just like the people who are doing these things to us!”

כִּ⁠בְשַׂ֤ר אַחֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙ בְּשָׂרֵ֔⁠נוּ כִּ⁠בְנֵי⁠הֶ֖ם בָּנֵ֑י⁠נוּ

like,flesh brothers,our flesh,our as,children,their children,our

You could move this sentence to the end of the verse, since it is the culmination of the argument.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אַחֵ֨י⁠נוּ֙

brothers,our

Here, brother describes the Jews who are exploiting their poor and vulnerable fellow Jews. Alternate translation: “And we are Jews, just like the people who are doing these things to us!”

וְ⁠הִנֵּ֣ה

and=see/lo/see!

Behold is a term meant to focus the attention of the listener on what the speaker is about to say. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use some emphatic term or expression in your language that would have this same effect.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אֲנַ֣חְנוּ כֹ֠בְשִׁים אֶת־בָּנֵ֨י⁠נוּ וְ⁠אֶת־בְּנֹתֵ֜י⁠נוּ לַ⁠עֲבָדִ֗ים וְ⁠יֵ֨שׁ מִ⁠בְּנֹתֵ֤י⁠נוּ נִכְבָּשׁוֹת֙

we forcing DOM sons,our and=DOM daughters,our to,slaves and,there_are some_of,daughters,our enslaved

In this context, the construction are putting likely indicates that the poor are on the verge of selling their children into slavery. The next sentence shows that they have already done this in some instances. It appears that in this culture, in dire situations, girls were sold before boys, perhaps because they could become either domestic servants or concubines. A concubine was a woman who was both a slave and a secondary wife to her master. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this statement that way. Alternate translation: “We are on the verge of selling our children into slavery. In fact, we have already sold some of our daughters as servants and concubines.”

Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וְ⁠אֵ֣ין לְ⁠אֵ֣ל יָדֵ֔⁠נוּ וּ⁠שְׂדֹתֵ֥י⁠נוּ וּ⁠כְרָמֵ֖י⁠נוּ לַ⁠אֲחֵרִֽים

and,not in,power help,we and,fields,our and,vineyards,our belong_to,others

If it would be helpful in your language, you could reverse the order of these phrases because the second phrase gives the reason why the first phrase is true. Alternate translation: “because our creditors took the fields and vineyards we pledged as security for loans, there is nothing else we can do in this situation.”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וְ⁠אֵ֣ין לְ⁠אֵ֣ל יָדֵ֔⁠נוּ

and,not in,power help,we

There is nothing to God in our hand is an idiom that means that the speaker does not have the power to do what they are describing. Alternate translation: “there is nothing else we can do in this situation”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וּ⁠שְׂדֹתֵ֥י⁠נוּ וּ⁠כְרָמֵ֖י⁠נוּ לַ⁠אֲחֵרִֽים

and,fields,our and,vineyards,our belong_to,others

The implication is that when the poor could not pay back their loans, their creditors took the fields and vineyards they had pledged as collateral. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly. Alternate translation: “because our creditors took the fields and vineyards we pledged as security for loans.”