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 ¹  lies desolate and its gates destroyed ²  by fire?”

Nehemia 4:11

4:11 Our adversaries also boasted, ³  “Before they are aware or anticipate ⁴  anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”

Nehemia 5:7

5:7 I considered these things carefully ⁵  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ⁶  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ⁷  from your own countrymen!” ⁸  Because of them I called for ⁹  a great public assembly.

Nehemia 5:9

5:9 Then I ¹⁰  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ¹¹  Should you not conduct yourselves ¹²  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

Nehemia 6:12

6:12 I recognized the fact that God had not sent him, for he had spoken the prophecy against me as a hired agent of Tobiah and Sanballat. ¹³ 

Nehemia 9:1

The People Acknowledge Their Sin before God

9:1 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust.

Nehemia 9:23

9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess.

Nehemia 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ¹⁴  of the people. They found ¹⁵  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 5).

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

[4:11]  ³ tn Heb “said.”

[4:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “see.”

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “nobles.”

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “taking a creditor’s debt.” The Hebrew noun מַשָּׁא (masha’) means “interest; debt” and probably refers to the collateral (pledge) collected by a creditor (HALOT 641-42 s.v.). This particular noun form appears only in Nehemiah (5:7, 10; 10:32); however, it is related to מַשָּׁאָה (masha’ah, “contractual loan; debt; collateral”) which appears elsewhere (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; cf. Neh 5:11). See the note on the word “people” at the end of v. 5. The BHS editors suggest emending the MT to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”), following several medieval Hebrew MSS; however, the result is not entirely clear: “you are bearing a burden, a man with his brothers.”

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “I gave.”

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tc The translation reads with the Qere and the ancient versions וָאוֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the MT Kethib, וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[5:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “not good.” The statement “The thing…is not good” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression which emphasizes the intended point (“The thing…is wrong!”) by negating its opposite.

[5:9]  ¹² tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

[6:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.”

[13:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.