Nehemiah 4:8

and conspired all of them R.V. and they conspired all of them. R.V. makes a stronger pause at the close of Nehemiah 4:7, substituting a semicolon for the comma. -Conspired." The word here used is the usual term for secret treachery.

to comeand to fight R.V. to come and fight. Literally -to come fight" without the copula. This idiom, which occurs again in Nehemiah 9:15; Nehemiah 9:23 (cf. 1 Chronicles 12:31; 2 Chronicles 20:11), combines the thought of the two infinitives, the latter being epexegetic of the former. It is equivalent -to come for the purpose of fighting."

and to hinder it R.V. and to cause confusion therein. More literally -and to cause confusion to him." The masc. pronoun is here used, referring to the dwellers in Jerusalem. -to cause or make confusion", the word rendered -confusion" occurs only here and in Isaiah 32:6, -to utter erroragainst the Lord." The rareness of the word occasioned difficulty to the versions. Hence LXX. ποιῆσαι αὐτὴν ἀφανῆ, Vulg. molirentur insidias.

The sudden arrival of hostile forces outside Jerusalem would be calculated -to cause confusion." It would encourage those who were already disaffected, and would terrify the timid. It would impede the work; for the patriot Jews would have to abandon the building for the sake of defending their walls, while the unwilling workers would gladly avail themselves of the pretext.