Nehemiah 4:5 (YLT)

Passage

and do not cover over their iniquity, and their sin from before Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger--over-against those building.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 4:3 And Tobiah the Ammonite <FI>is<Fi> by him and saith, `Also, that which they are building--if a fox doth go up, then it hath broken down their stone wall.'

Nehemiah 4:4 Hear, O our God, for we have been despised; and turn back their reproach on their own head, and give them for a spoil in a land of captivity;

Nehemiah 4:5 and do not cover over their iniquity, and their sin from before Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger--over-against those building.

Nehemiah 4:6 And we build the wall, and all the wall is joined--unto its half, and the people have a heart to work.

Nehemiah 4:7 And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that lengthening hath gone up to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breeches have begun to be stopped, then it is very displeasing to them,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cover", "iniquity", "before", "thee", "blotted", "provoked", and "anger--over-against". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cover" and "iniquity", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Hear O our God for we have..." into verse 6's "And we build the wall and all...", so "cover" and "iniquity" belong inside that flow. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "cover" and "iniquity" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.