They spoke of his good deeds in my presence, and reported my words to him: These relatives and friends of Tobiah passed information between him and Nehemiah. The motivation of those who were involved is not clear. Perhaps they were trying to mediate between the two men. There is a wordplay between the Hebrew word for good deeds (toboth) and the name Tobiah. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible says “They even praised him in my presence, and reported to him my words.” Revised English Bible renders it “They were always praising him in my presence and repeating to him what I said.” The Hebrew verbal constructions in this verse reflect repeated action. This repetition of the same actions should be expressed by the translator.

In my presence is literally “in my face.” This may be expressed in some languages as “in my eyes” or “in front of me.”

Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid: For letters see verse 17 above. Nehemiah considered that Tobiah was taking advantage of the information to try to make him afraid or “to intimidate” him (so Revised English Bible). Once again the Hebrew verbal construction here reflects repeated action as expressed by “kept sending” in Good News Translation. This expression of repeated action should also be translated.

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 .