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 4:1

Opposition to the Work Continues

4:1 (3:33) ³  Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews,

Nehemiah 4:3

4:3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

Nehemiah 4:10

4:10 Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers ⁴  has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

Nehemiah 4:13

4:13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places. ⁵  I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows.

Nehemiah 4:17

4:17 who were rebuilding the wall. ⁶  Those who were carrying loads did so ⁷  by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon.

Nehemiah 5:16

5:16 I gave myself to the work on this wall, without even purchasing ⁸  a field. All my associates were gathered there for the work.

Nehemiah 12:27

The Wall of Jerusalem is Dedicated

12:27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, ⁹  they sought out the Levites from all the places they lived ¹⁰  to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication joyfully with songs of thanksgiving and songs accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.

Nehemiah 12:37

12:37 They went over the Fountain Gate and continued directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall. They passed the house of David and continued on to the Water Gate toward the east.

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 sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:23 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:33 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:34 HT, 4:3 ET = 3:35 HT, 4:4 ET = 3:36 HT, 4:5 ET = 3:37 HT, 4:6 ET = 3:38 HT, 4:7 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 4:23 ET = 4:17 HT. Thus in the Hebrew Bible chap. 3 of the Book of Nehemiah has 38 verses, while chap. 4 has only 17 verses.

⁵ tn Heb “burden-bearers.”

⁷ tc The MT preserves the anomalous Kethib form צְחִחִיִּים (tsÿkhikhiyyim); the Qere reads צְחִיחִים (tsÿkhikhim) which is preferred (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ).

⁹ tn The first words of v. 17, “who were rebuilding the wall,” should be taken with the latter part of v. 16.

¹⁰ tn Heb “were carrying loads.” The LXX reads ἐν ὅπλοις (en hoplois, “with weapons”).

¹¹ tn Heb “we did not purchase.”

¹³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁴ tn Heb “from all their places.” The words “they lived” are implied.