OET interlinear NEH 6:10

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-time-simultaneous

וַ⁠אֲנִי

and,I

Nehemiah uses this phrase to introduce something else that happened around this same time. Alternate translation: “Around this time”

בָ֗אתִי בֵּ֣ית

went_into house_of

Alternate translation: “I went to visit”

Note 2 topic: translate-names

שְֽׁמַֽעְיָ֧ה בֶן־דְּלָיָ֛ה בֶּן־מְהֵֽיטַבְאֵ֖ל

Shəmaˊ\sup_yāh son_of Dəlā\sup_yāh son_of Mehetabel

Shemaiah is the name of a man, Delaiah is the name of his father, and Mehetabel is the name of his grandfather. Alternate translation: “Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

וְ⁠ה֣וּא עָצ֑וּר

and=he confined

You can say this with an active form, and you can say who did the action. Alternate translation: “he was not leaving his house.”

Note 4 topic: translate-symaction

וְ⁠ה֣וּא עָצ֑וּר

and=he confined

Nehemiah does not say why Shemaiah was not leaving his house. He could have been sick or he could have been ceremonially unclean, so you might choose not to specify any reason. However, the context suggests that Shemaiah may have been trying to symbolize that it was not safe for Jewish leaders to go around in public. A man by the name of Shemaiah is listed in 10:8 as one of the priests who signed the community agreement. This could be the same person since he has access to the temple and is therefore likely a priest. If it would be helpful in your language, you could suggest this reason explicitly. Alternate translation: “He was a priest, and he was trying to show that it was not safe for Jewish leaders to go out in public, so he was not leaving his house”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

נִוָּעֵד֩ אֶל־בֵּ֨ית הָ⁠אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ הַֽ⁠הֵיכָ֗ל

meet to/towards house_of the=ʼElohīm to/towards inside_of the,temple

Shemaiah seems to be proposing that he and Nehemiah move their meeting to the temple, suggesting that they are not even safe in his house. Alternate translation: “We are not safe even here. We need to go into the temple, to the sacred place inside the temple”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

אֶל־בֵּ֨ית הָ⁠אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ הַֽ⁠הֵיכָ֗ל

to/towards house_of the=ʼElohīm to/towards inside_of the,temple

These two phrases mean similar things. Shemaiah uses the repetition to emphasize the danger he is suggesting they are in. You do not need to repeat both phrases in your translation if that would be confusing for your readers. Alternate translation: “into the temple”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בֵּ֨ית הָ⁠אֱלֹהִ֜ים

house_of the=ʼElohīm

Shemaiah is referring to the temple as the “house of God,” as if it were God’s dwelling place. Alternate translation: “the temple”

וְ⁠נִסְגְּרָה֙ דַּלְת֣וֹת הַ⁠הֵיכָ֔ל

and,close doors the,temple

This means to not just close the doors but lock them. Alternate translation: “and lock the doors”

כִּ֚י בָּאִ֣ים לְ⁠הָרְגֶ֔⁠ךָ

that/for/because/then/when coming to,kill,you

Shemaiah does not say who these people are. It would be possible to say something based on what can reasonably be inferred. For example, “Your enemies have hired people to kill you.” However, the vagueness seems to be part of Shemaiah’s strategy to frighten Nehemiah. So it might be more effective to leave this indefinite. Alternate translation: “because people are trying to kill you”

וְ⁠לַ֖יְלָה בָּאִ֥ים לְ⁠הָרְגֶֽ⁠ךָ

and,night coming to,kill,you

Shemaiah’s confidence in the detail of “at night” seems designed to make Nehemiah even more afraid because this means that the killers will come in the dark when he is asleep, so he won’t be able to protect himself. It could be helpful to your readers for your translation to reflect this confidence. Alternate translation: “I know that one night they are going to come and kill you”