I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me for good and also of the words which the king had spoken to me: Nehemiah justified his mission by referring to his authority both from God who had been good to him and from the words of the king spoken to him. This double source of divine and royal authority is a pattern that is repeated in both Ezra and Nehemiah (see, for example Ezra 6.14; 7.27-28; Neh 2.8).

For the hand of my God … upon me for good, see Ezra 8.22 and verse 8 above.

Let us rise up and build: Let us rise up is an expression in Hebrew meaning to initiate an action (see the comments on “rose up” at Ezra 1.5). The people accept Nehemiah’s exhortation and agree to begin the work all together. Many versions retain the Hebrew expression in translation, as though there were two separate actions, rising up and building (so Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Good News Translation communicates its meaning more clearly (also New International Version, New Revised Standard Version). It adds an exclamation point to draw attention to the eagerness of the people to begin work. Translators are advised to follow this example.

In response to Nehemiah’s appeal, they strengthened their hands for the good work. This is an idiom meaning “to encourage themselves.” Compare this expression with Ezra 4.4, where the people of the land “weakened their hands” (Revised Standard Version “discouraged”). This does not mean that the people immediately started working on the project (see verse 20 below) but that they were prepared to begin. New International Version renders it “they began this good work.” The work, which was first mentioned in verse 16 above, is literally called “the good thing” here. Verse 20 below provides the reason for calling it good. It is good because God will make the people successful in their task (see also Neh 3.5). In Neh 4.19 and 6.3 Nehemiah refers to it as a “great” work.

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 .