Albert Barnes Commentary Nehemiah 4:4

"Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity;" — Nehemiah 4:4 (ASV)

The parenthetical prayers of Nehemiah form one of the most striking characteristics of his history. Here we have the first. Other examples are (Nehemiah 5:19); (Nehemiah 6:9), (Nehemiah 6:14); (Nehemiah 13:14), (Nehemiah 13:22), (Nehemiah 13:29), (Nehemiah 13:31).