Nehemia 3:27

3:27 After them the men of Tekoa worked on another section, from opposite the great protruding tower to the wall of Ophel.

Nehemia 4:2

4:2 and in the presence of his colleagues ¹  and the army of Samaria ²  he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? ³  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 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 6:6

6:6 Written in it were the following words:

“Among the nations it is rumored ⁴  (and Geshem ⁵  has substantiated ⁶  this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors ⁷  you are going to become their king.

Nehemia 7:5

7:5 My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders, ⁸  the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records ⁹  of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record: ¹⁰ 

Nehemia 12:27

The Wall of Jerusalem is Dedicated

12:27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, ¹¹  they sought out the Levites from all the places they lived ¹²  to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication joyfully with songs of thanksgiving and songs accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.

Nehemia 12:31

12:31 I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed ¹³  on the top of the wall southward toward the Dung Gate.

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

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

[4:2]  ³ 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?”

[6:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “heard.”

[6:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “Gashmu”; in Neh 2:19 this name appears as Geshem. Since it is important for the modern reader to recognize that this is the same individual, the form of the name used here in the translation is the same as that in v. 19.

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “is saying.”

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “words.” So also in v. 7.

[7:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “nobles”; NCV “important men.”

[7:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “the book of genealogy.”

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in it”; the referent (the genealogical record) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:27]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:27]  ¹² tn Heb “from all their places.” The words “they lived” are implied.

[12:31]  ¹³ tc The translation reads וְהָאַחַת הֹלֶכֶת (vÿha’akhat holekhet, “and one was proceeding”) rather than the MT reading וְתַהֲלֻכֹת (vÿtahalukhot, “and processions”).