Nehemia 7:3

7:3 I ¹  said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, ²  until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. ³  Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.”

Nehemia 13:19

13:19 When the evening shadows ⁴  began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered ⁵  the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned ⁶  some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

Nehemia 6:10

6:10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. ⁷  He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”

Nehemia 4:5

4:5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from before them. For they have bitterly offended ⁸  the builders! ⁹ 

Nehemia 4:7

4:7 (4:1) ¹⁰  When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem ¹¹  had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.

Nehemia 8:18

8:18 Ezra ¹²  read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last. ¹³  They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly ¹⁴  as was required. ¹⁵ 

Nehemia 6:1

Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues

6:1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates),

Nehemia 9:30

9:30 You prolonged your kindness ¹⁶  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ¹⁷  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ¹⁸ 

[7:3]  ¹ tc The present translation (along with most English versions) reads with the Qere, a Qumran text, and the ancient versions וָאֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, which reads וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[7:3]  ² tn Heb “until the heat of the sun.” The phrase probably means that the gates were to be opened only after the day had progressed a bit, not at the first sign of morning light (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV). It is possible, however, that the Hebrew preposition עַד (’ad), here translated as “until,” has a more rare sense of “during.” If so, this would mean that the gates were not to be left open and unattended during the hot part of the day when people typically would be at rest (cf. NLT).

[7:3]  ³ tn Presumably this would mean the gates were not to be opened until later in the morning and were to remain open until evening. Some, however, have understood Nehemiah’s instructions to mean that the gates were not to be left open during the hottest part of the day, but must be shut and locked while the guards are still on duty. See J. Barr, “Hebrew עַד, especially at Job i.18 and Neh vii.3,” JJS 27 (1982): 177-88.

[13:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”

[13:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “said” (so also in v. 22).

[13:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “caused to stand.”

[6:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “shut in.” The reason for his confinement is not stated. BDB 783 s.v. עָצַר suggests that it had to do with the fulfillment of a vow or was related to an issue of ceremonial uncleanness.

[4:5]  ⁸ tn The Hiphil stem of כָּעַס (ka’as) may mean: (1) “to provoke to anger”; (2) “to bitterly offend”; or (3) “to grieve” (BDB 495 s.v. Hiph.; HALOT 491 s.v. כעס hif). The Hebrew lexicons suggest that “bitterly offend” is the most appropriate nuance here.

[4:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “before the builders.” The preposition נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) here connotes “in the sight of” or “in the view of” (BDB 617 s.v. 1.a; HALOT 666 s.v. 1.a).

[4:7]  ¹⁰ sn Chapter 4 begins here in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 4:1.

[4:7]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:18]  ¹² tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “the last day.”

[8:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “according to the judgment.”

[9:30]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”