And they sent … in this way and I answered them in the same manner: In Hebrew in this way and in the same manner are literally “with this word.” The narrative continues dramatically with two parallel clauses in Hebrew. Each time the invitation was repeated “with this word,” Nehemiah gave the same answer “with this word.” As in verse 2 above, the Hebrew text does not specify how the message was sent. Good News Translation, like many other versions, refers to “the same message” in the first clause. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible specifies “the same messenger” in anticipation of verse 5 that follows. Others like New Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant reflect the content of the message in their rendering “the same invitation.”

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 .