For what do you make request?: It was evident to the king from Nehemiah’s answer that he wanted to make a request. The king therefore asks what Nehemiah requests of him (compare Est 5.3; 7.2). His question to Nehemiah may appear to be brusque but it shows that he is ready to listen and respond to Nehemiah’s concern. This may have been not only because Nehemiah was in good standing with the king, but because it was the time of the New Year festival when the king granted favors to his servants. The translation should place the emphasis on what Nehemiah is requesting (so Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), and not merely on what he wants the king to do (as in Contemporary English Version “What do you want me to do?”).

So I prayed to the God of heaven: At that point Nehemiah prayed a silent prayer to God. It is unusual to find reference to silent prayer in the Bible before the exile, but this became a more common form of personal piety after the exile. No specific indication is given of the content of this prayer, although perhaps it was that Nehemiah might make his request correctly or that the king would be willing to grant his request. The translator should make it clear that this was an internal prayer, a prayer in Nehemiah’s heart or in his thoughts. In some languages it is necessary to supply an object for the verb such as a filler noun: “pray thing.” If the receptor culture requires that what he prayed about be specified, then it may be appropriate for the translator to say “Then I prayed in my heart that the God of heaven would help me.”

For God of heaven, see Ezra 1.2.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .