Nehemia 4:17

4:17 who were rebuilding the wall. ¹  Those who were carrying loads did so ²  by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon.

Nehemia 4:20

4:20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”

Nehemia 6:9

6:9 All of them were wanting ³  to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands! ⁴ 

Nehemia 11:21

11:21 The temple attendants were living on Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were over them. ⁵ 

[4:17]  ¹ tn The first words of v. 17, “who were rebuilding the wall,” should be taken with the latter part of v. 16.

[4:17]  ² tn Heb “were carrying loads.” The LXX reads ἐν ὅπλοις (en hoplois, “with weapons”).

[6:9]  ³ tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.

[6:9]  ⁴ tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).

[11:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the temple attendants.” The pronoun “them” has been substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.