Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, on Neh 4:4

“Hear thou our God, for we are despised: turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them to be despised in a land of captivity.”

“Hear, O our God; for we are despised--The imprecations invoked here may seem harsh, cruel, and vindictive; but it must be remembered that Nehemiah and his friends regarded those Samaritan leaders as enemies to the cause of God and His people, and therefore as deserving to be visited with heavy judgments. The prayer, therefore, is to be considered as emanating from hearts in which neither hatred, revenge, nor any inferior passion, but a pious and patriotic zeal for the glory of God and the success of His cause, held the ascendant sway.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.