Nehemiah completely refused to follow Shemaiah’s suggestion. In response he asked two questions. They are both rhetorical in nature; that is, both questions express a strong sense of doubt. The expected answer to the first question is clearly “No,” and in some versions both questions anticipate “No” for an answer (so New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Translation). For Nehemiah to run away and hide in the Temple “to save his life” would be to act like a coward. Furthermore, for him to enter the Temple without the right to do so would bring the penalty of death upon him.

Should such a man as I … what man such as I…?: The Hebrew word for man is used in the first question. In the second question the Hebrew asks literally “and who, such as I, would enter the Temple and would live?” In the first question the emphasis is on Nehemiah as a courageous and honorable man whose nature would not be to run away in the face of danger. In the second question the emphasis is on his status as a layperson who did not have the right to enter the Temple. According to the Law of Moses (see Num. 18.7), only the priests were to go near the altar and into the sanctuary. These places were reserved for the priests since they were near to the symbolic presence of God in the Most Holy Place. Anyone else who went there would be put to death. Amplified Bible makes this explicit by including within square brackets the following information: “where only the priests were allowed to go.” This explanation may be placed in a footnote, but not in the text.

And live: Two interpretations of the clause and the verb translated live are possible. The first is that it is a clause that states a result and the verb expresses the meaning “to remain alive.” The second is that it is a clause stating a purpose, so the verb has the meaning “to save his life.” The literal rendering of Revised Standard Version is easier to understand in the first sense (also Bible en français courant, Segond, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The second meaning is stated explicitly in Good News Translation and in other versions (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version). Most of the newer translations interpret it as a purpose clause and that is recommended by this Handbook.

I will not go in: The Hebrew uses a verb of motion here, and Revised Standard Version adds the preposition in for precision (see also New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Good News Translation interprets Nehemiah’s response more generally and renders it with a verb of action. After the verb of motion, some languages will require a location; for example, “I will not enter the Temple” or “I will not go inside there.”

This conversation is very dramatic, and Nehemiah’s response is given with great emphasis as it is rendered in some contemporary versions. For the last clause New Living Translation says “No, I won’t do it!” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “No, I’m not going!” and Parole de Vie has “No, I won’t go to the temple!” The drama is carried over into Nehemiah’s next action in verse 12.

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 .