Nehemia 1:3

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable ¹  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” ² 

Nehemia 2:3

2:3 I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors ³  lies desolate and its gates destroyed ⁴  by fire?”

Nehemia 2:17

2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”

Nehemia 4:2

4:2 and in the presence of his colleagues ⁵  and the army of Samaria ⁶  he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? ⁷  Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

Nehemia 4:6

4:6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. ⁸  The people were enthusiastic in their work. ⁹ 

Nehemia 4:10

4:10 Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers ¹⁰  has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “great.”

[1:3]  ² tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

[2:3]  ³ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 5).

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “devoured” or “eaten” (so also in Neh 2:13).

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[4:2]  ⁶ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[4:2]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The present translation follows the MT, but the text may be corrupt. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [WBC], 213-14) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that MT לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (lelohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of BHS. In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra–Nehemiah [OTL], 242-44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the MT reading may be the notion that the workers – if left to their own limited resources – could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (’azav, “to leave”) plus לְ (lÿ, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”

[4:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “up to its half.”

[4:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the people had a heart to work.”

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “burden-bearers.”