Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
Here is, I. The spiteful scornful reflection which Sanballat and Tobiah cast upon the Jews for their attempt to build the wall about Jerusalem. The country rang of it presently; intelligence was brought of it to Samaria, that nest of enemies to the Jews and their prosperity; and here we are told how they received the tidings. 1. In heart.
Commenting on Nehemiah 4:1-6
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...
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. (e) Let the plagues declare to the world that they set themselves against you and your Church: that he prays only having respect for God's glory and not for any private affection, or grudge.