InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEUT JOB YEHO (JOS) HERO (JDG) RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG YOEL (JOEL) MIC ISA ZEP HAB YIR (JER) LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBAD DAN EZEK EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR G DAN G ESD L ESD ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAOD PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
InterlinearVerse Neh C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13
Neh 6 V1 V2 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19
OET-LV And_I_sent to_them messengers to_say a_work great I am_doing and_not I_am_able to_go_down to/for_what the_work will_it_cease just_as I_will_let_it_drop and_I_will_go_down to_you(pl).
OET (OET-RV) So I sent messengers back to them, “This work is important and extensive, so I can’t afford to abandon it and have the work stop if I travelled down to you on the plain.”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
מְלָאכָ֤ה גְדוֹלָה֙ אֲנִ֣י עֹשֶׂ֔ה
work great I (Some words not found in UHB: and,I,sent to,them messengers to=say work great I producing and=not able to,go_down to/for=what stop the,work just=as I,will_let_it_drop and,I_will_go_down to,you(pl) )
Nehemiah is once again using himself to represent the whole community and its work of rebuilding of the wall. Alternate translation: [We are doing a great work]
וְלֹ֥א אוּכַ֖ל לָרֶ֑דֶת
and=not able to,go_down
Nehemiah does not mean that he is physically unable to travel to Ono. He means that he cannot leave his supervision of the work for the several days it would take to travel there and back. Alternate translation: [I am not able to travel while it is going on]
לָרֶ֑דֶת
to,go_down
Nehemiah uses the word down because the plain of Ono is at a lower elevation than Jerusalem. Alternate translation: [meet with you]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
לָ֣מָּה תִשְׁבַּ֤ת הַמְּלָאכָה֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר אַרְפֶּ֔הָ וְיָרַדְתִּ֖י אֲלֵיכֶֽם
(Some words not found in UHB: and,I,sent to,them messengers to=say work great I producing and=not able to,go_down to/for=what stop the,work just=as I,will_let_it_drop and,I_will_go_down to,you(pl) )
Nehemiah is making a statement, not asking a question. He does not expect Sanballat and Geshem to give him reasons why the work should stop as he travels to meet with them. Instead, Nehemiah is using the question form to emphasize how important it is for the work of rebuilding the walls to continue. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate his question as a statement. Alternate translation: [I cannot let the work stop and come down to you]
וְיָרַדְתִּ֖י אֲלֵיכֶֽם
(Some words not found in UHB: and,I,sent to,them messengers to=say work great I producing and=not able to,go_down to/for=what stop the,work just=as I,will_let_it_drop and,I_will_go_down to,you(pl) )
The word down is used here because the plain of Ono where they were requesting Nehemiah to come is at a lower elevation than Jerusalem.
OET-LV And_I_sent to_them messengers to_say a_work great I am_doing and_not I_am_able to_go_down to/for_what the_work will_it_cease just_as I_will_let_it_drop and_I_will_go_down to_you(pl).
OET (OET-RV) So I sent messengers back to them, “This work is important and extensive, so I can’t afford to abandon it and have the work stop if I travelled down to you on the plain.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.
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