The term very angry
implies that there arose within Nehemiah a very strong emotion of great displeasure and frustration. Nehemiah had used the same word in Nehemiah 4:7 to describe the enemies’ emotions upon hearing about the progress of the work. While in that passage this anger
produced evil fruit, in the present case this anger is righteous and so bears godly fruit.
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.