And came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah: Nehemiah continues his account. After taking leave of the king, he arrived in Jerusalem. Nothing is said about his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. However, on his return to Jerusalem he discovered what Eliashib had done while he was away. Eliashib’s act is described as evil because it was a desecration of the Temple. This is the first of four times in this chapter that the Hebrew word translated evil is used (also verses 17, 18, 27). It occurs a fifth time in a verbal form in verse 8 (“was … angry”). It was used earlier in the book of Nehemiah for a bad situation (rendered as “trouble” in 1.3; 2.17), for the emotion of displeasure (2.10), and for physical harm (6.2). Here it is used for wrongdoing in God’s sight. New Jerusalem Bible calls it a “crime,” while Revised English Bible calls it an “outrageous thing.” The verb had done refers to an action that took place before a past event.

In the courts of the house of God: See Neh 8.16.

Good News Translation restructures the verse to make the meaning clear. It also interprets Nehemiah’s reaction to finding out about Eliashib’s evil deed to be “shock.” This is consistent with the context and with Nehemiah’s response as recorded in the following verse. Most versions, however, translate more neutrally as Revised Standard Version has done, for example, “I learned about” (New International Version) and “I became aware of” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Translators should follow their example.

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 .