6:8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. 1 All of this is a figment of your imagination.” 2
6:9 All of them were wanting 3 to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”
So now, strengthen my hands! 4
1 tn Heb “We are not according to these matters that you are saying.”
2 tn Heb “For from your heart you are inventing them.”
3 tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.
4 tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).