Nehemiah 4:5

5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee; for they have provoked Thee to anger before the builders.

Nehemiah 4:5 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:5

And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted
out from before thee
Let it not go unpunished, and even let it not be pardoned; which is spoken, not from a private spirit of revenge, but from a public spirit for the glory of God, and his justice; and not as a mere imprecation, but as a prophecy of what would be the case, in like manner as many of David's petitions in the Psalms; and for this there was a good foundation, since God had threatened the Moabites and Ammonites with utter destruction:

for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders;
by despising his people, and mocking at the work the Lord had called them to; and this they did publicly, and on purpose to discourage the workmen.

Nehemiah 4:5 In-Context

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, "Indeed that which they build, if a fox go up, even he shall break down their stone wall."

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity.

5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee; for they have provoked Thee to anger before the builders.

6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 But it came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,