OET interlinear NEH 5:7

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

וַ⁠יִּמָּלֵ֨ךְ לִבִּ֜⁠י עָלַ֗⁠י

and,it_considered heart_of,my with,me

Here Nehemiah is speaking about his heart as if it were a living thing that could act like a king and rule over him. However, he is not saying that his feelings commanded his actions. (He says in the previous verse that he became very angry, but in the next verse he describes acting in a careful and deliberate manner.) Instead, this means that his heart “took counsel” with him, the way a king would take counsel with advisors. In effect, Nehemiah is saying that he talked the matter over with himself. Alternate translation: [I thought hard about what to do]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וַ⁠יִּמָּלֵ֨ךְ לִבִּ֜⁠י עָלַ֗⁠י

and,it_considered heart_of,my with,me

Here, the heart represents the thoughts and the will. Alternate translation: [I thought hard about what to do]

וָ⁠אָרִ֨יבָ⁠ה֙

and,I,contended

Contended is a technical term that means “to bring charges.” It means to initiate a lawsuit that would require the defendants to answer for themselves publicly, in the presence of their fellow citizens. Alternate translation: [Then I brought charges]

הַ⁠חֹרִ֣ים & הַ⁠סְּגָנִ֔ים

the,nobles & the,officials

See how you translated these terms in [2:16](../02/16.md). Alternate translation: [the leading citizens and the city officials]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

מַשָּׁ֥א & אַתֶּ֣ם

interest & you(pl)

This expression means to charge interest when loaning money to another person. Alternate translation: [You are charging interest]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַשָּׁ֥א אִישׁ־בְּ⁠אָחִ֖י⁠ו

interest (a)_man on,his_of,brother

The Law of Moses specifically forbade charging interest on a loan to a fellow Jew. So this was not just an exploitive business practice, it was a violation of God’s Law. The rich and powerful Jews would certainly have been expected to know this. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly. Alternate translation: [You are charging interest on loans to your fellow Jews. You know that is forbidden in the Law of Moses.]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

אִישׁ־בְּ⁠אָחִ֖י⁠ו

(a)_man on,his_of,brother

In this context, “a man” means “each person.” It does not mean only an adult male.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אִישׁ־בְּ⁠אָחִ֖י⁠ו

(a)_man on,his_of,brother

Here, brother could conceivably include even biological brothers, but in context it likely refers to fellow Jews. Alternate translation: [to your fellow Jews]

Note 7 topic: translate-unknown

וָ⁠אֶתֵּ֥ן עֲלֵי⁠הֶ֖ם קְהִלָּ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה

and,I_made on,them assembly great

This means that, as part of conducting the lawsuit against these wealthy and powerful Jews, Nehemiah brought together a large group of their fellow citizens to hear the charges against them. This group was the “assembly.” Alternate translation: [I put them on trial in front of their fellow citizens]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / events

וָ⁠אֶתֵּ֥ן עֲלֵי⁠הֶ֖ם קְהִלָּ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה

and,I_made on,them assembly great

To present the events in chronological order, if that would be helpful to your readers, you could put this before the previous sentence, which describes the first charge that Nehemiah brought at this trial.