Nehemiah 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 

Nehemiah 1:8-9

1:8 Please recall the word you commanded your servant Moses: ‘If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations. ³  1:9 But if you repent ⁴  and obey ⁵  my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, ⁶  I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’

¹ tn Heb “great.”

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.

³ tn Heb “peoples.”

⁴ tn Heb “turn to me.”

⁵ tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

⁶ tn Heb “at the end of the heavens.”