Nehemia 2:18-19

2:18 Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what ¹  the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” ²  So they readied themselves ³  for this good project. 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, ⁴  they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Nehemia 5:14

5:14 From the day that I was appointed ⁵  governor ⁶  in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes – twelve years in all – neither I nor my relatives ⁷  ate the food allotted to the governor. ⁸ 

Nehemia 8:3

8:3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon ⁹  before the men and women and those children who could understand. ¹⁰  All the people were eager to hear ¹¹  the book of the law.

[2:18]  ¹ tn Heb “the words of the king which he had spoken to me.”

[2:18]  ² tn Heb “Arise! Let us rebuild!”

[2:18]  ³ tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”

[2:19]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “all this,” but they have been added in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ⁵ tc The BHS editors suggest reading צֻוֵּאתִי (tsuvve’ti, “and I was appointed”) rather than the reading of the MT, אֹתִי צִוָּה (tsivvah ’oti, “he appointed me”).

[5:14]  ⁶ tc The translation reads with one medieval Hebrew MS פֶּחָה (pekhah, “governor”) rather than פֶּחָם (pekham, “their governor”) of the MT. One would expect the form with pronominal suffix to have a tav (ת) before the suffix.

[5:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[5:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the food of the governor.” Cf. v. 18.

[8:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”

[8:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, TEV, NLT).

[8:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”