zeal, zealous

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is often translated in English as “zeal” or “zealous” is translated in Moken as “great love” (“my zeal” — cewui lak tho: “my great love.”) (Source: Gam Seng Shae)

In Ixcatlán Mazatec it is likewise translated as “love, commitment, enthusiasm” (not jealousy). (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Khasi is is translated with shitrhem which conveys the “idea of loving or devoted enthusiasm.” (Source: B. J. Syiemlieh)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Neh 4:6)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Sanballat and Tobiah.

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 4:6

All the wall was joined together to half its height: Joined together may refer to the way in which the wall was built by sealing joints between the stones. However, the reference to all the wall indicates that it probably means that all the sections of the wall were joined together and the wall was completed to half its height, which is literally “up to its half.” Given the way in which the work was being distributed, this must refer to its height rather than its length.

The people had a mind to work: The insults only strengthened the resolve of the builders because the people had a mind [literally “heart”] to work; that is, their hearts were set on doing the work. The Hebrew idiom identifies the heart as the place of human emotion, in this case of will and determination. Other cultures use different expressions here as shown in English by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Some languages may refer to the liver or the entrails or the trunk of the body as the seat of emotion.

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 .