Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Nehemiah 4:5

Don't take away their guilt or forgive the sins they have done in your sight. They have insulted and discouraged the builders."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Prayer;   Zeal, Religious;   Thompson Chain Reference - Co-Operation;   Imprecations;   Nehemiah;   Unity-Strife;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Samaria, Modern;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Samaritans;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Evil;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Sanballat;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Tobiah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Nehemiah;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Blot;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered the builders.
Hebrew Names Version
and don't cover their iniquity, and don't let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have provoked [you] to anger before the builders.
King James Version
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
English Standard Version
Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
New Century Version
Do not hide their guilt or take away their sins so that you can't see them, because they have insulted the builders."
New English Translation
Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from before them. For they have bitterly offended the builders!
Amplified Bible
Do not forgive their wrongdoing and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have offended the builders [and provoked You].
New American Standard Bible
Do not forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.
World English Bible
and don't cover their iniquity, and don't let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have provoked [you] to anger before the builders.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And couer not their iniquitie, neither let their sinne be put out in thy presence: for they haue prouoked vs before the builders.
Legacy Standard Bible
Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have vexed the builders.
Berean Standard Bible
Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.
Contemporary English Version
Don't forgive the mean and evil way they have insulted the builders."
Complete Jewish Bible
Our enemies were saying, "They won't know or see anything, until we have already infiltrated them and begun killing them and stopping the work."
Darby Translation
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked the builders.
George Lamsa Translation
And forgive not their offenses, and let not their sins be blotted out from before thee; for they are enraged, and have opposed the building which we are doing.
Good News Translation
Don't forgive the evil they do and don't forget their sins, for they have insulted us who are building."
Lexham English Bible
Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have provoked the builders to anger.
Literal Translation
And do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You. For they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Couer not their wickednesse, & put not out their sinne fro yi presence: for they haue prouoked the buylders.
American Standard Version
and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
Bible in Basic English
Let not their wrongdoing be covered or their sin washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Couer not their wickednesse, and let not their sinne be put out in thy presence: for they haue prouoked the buylders.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And our adversaries said: 'They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.'
King James Version (1611)
And couer not their iniquitie, and let not their sinne bee blotted out from before thee: for they haue prouoked thee to anger before the builders.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and do not cover their iniquity.
English Revised Version
and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
hile thou not the wickidnesse of hem, and her synnes be not doon awei bifor thi face; for thei scorneden bilderis.
Update Bible Version
and don't cover their iniquity, and don't let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have provoked [you] to anger before the builders.
Webster's Bible Translation
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked [thee] to anger before the builders.
New King James Version
Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
New Living Translation
Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders."
New Life Bible
Do not forgive their sin. Do not let their sin be covered from Your eyes. For they have made much fun of the builders.
New Revised Standard
Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and do not cover their iniquity, and, their sin before thee, let it not be blotted out, - for they have caused vexation before them who are building.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thy face, because they have mocked thy builders.
Revised Standard Version
Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from thy sight; for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
Young's Literal Translation
and do not cover over their iniquity, and their sin from before Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger -- over-against those building.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

Contextual Overview

1 When Sanballat heard that we were building the wall of Jerusalem, he was very angry and upset. He started making fun of the Jews. 2 Sanballat talked with his friends and the army at Samaria and said, "What are these weak Jews doing? Do they think we will leave them alone? Do they think they will offer sacrifices? Maybe they think they can finish building in only one day. They cannot bring stones back to life from these piles of trash and dirt. These are just piles of ashes and dirt!" 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was with Sanballat. Tobiah said, "What do these Jews think they are building? If even a small fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!" 4 Nehemiah prayed and said, "Our God, listen to our prayer. These men hate us. Sanballat and Tobiah are insulting us. Make bad things happen to them. Make them ashamed, like people taken away as prisoners. 5 Don't take away their guilt or forgive the sins they have done in your sight. They have insulted and discouraged the builders." 6 We built the wall of Jerusalem all the way around the city. But it was only half as tall as it should be. We did this much because the people worked with all their heart.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cover not: Psalms 59:5-13, Psalms 69:27, Psalms 109:14, Jeremiah 18:23, 2 Timothy 4:14

their sin: Psalms 51:1, Psalms 51:9, Isaiah 43:25, Isaiah 44:22

before the builders: Isaiah 36:11, Isaiah 36:12

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 6:14 - think thou Job 16:18 - cover not Psalms 32:1 - covered Jeremiah 18:19 - hearken Lamentations 1:22 - all their Colossians 2:14 - Blotting

Cross-References

Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground.
Genesis 31:2
Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been in the past.
Genesis 31:5
He said to them, "I have noticed that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be. But the God of my father has been with me.
Numbers 16:15
So Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord , "I never did anything wrong to these people. I never took anything from them—not even a donkey! Don't accept their gifts!"
Job 5:2
A fool's anger will kill him. His jealousy will destroy him.
Psalms 20:3
May he remember all the gifts you have offered. May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
Matthew 20:15
I can do what I want with my own money. Why would you be jealous because I am generous?'
Acts 13:45
When the Jews there saw all these people, they became very jealous. Shouting insults, they argued against everything Paul said.
Hebrews 11:4
Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God. But Abel offered a better sacrifice to God because he had faith. God said he was pleased with what Abel offered. And so God called him a good man because he had faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee,.... Let it not go unpunished, and even let it not be pardoned; which is spoken, not from a private spirit of revenge, but from a public spirit for the glory of God, and his justice; and not as a mere imprecation, but as a prophecy of what would be the case, in like manner as many of David's petitions in the Psalms; and for this there was a good foundation, since God had threatened the Moabites and Ammonites with utter destruction:

for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders; by despising his people, and mocking at the work the Lord had called them to; and this they did publicly, and on purpose to discourage the workmen.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Nehemiah 4:5. Let not their sin be blotted out — These are the most terrible imprecations; but probably we should understand them as declaratory, for the same form of the verb, in the Hebrew, is used as precative and imperative. Turn their reproach - Their reproach shall be turned. Give them for a prey - They shall be given for a prey. Cover not their iniquity - Their iniquity shall not be covered. Let not their sin be blotted out - Their sin shall not be blotted out. All who know the genius of the Hebrew language, know that the future tense is used to express all these senses. Besides, we may rest assured that Nehemiah's curses, or declaration of God's judgments, had respect only to their bodies, and to their life: not to their souls and the world to come. And then they amount to no more than this: What a man soweth that he shall reap.


 
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