Nehemiah 1:5--2:4

1:5 Then I said, “Please, O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant ¹  with those who love him and obey ²  his commandments, 1:6 may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed ³  against you – both I myself and my family ⁴  have sinned. 1:7 We have behaved corruptly against you, not obeying the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments that you commanded your servant Moses. 1:8 Please recall the word you commanded your servant Moses: ‘If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations. ⁵  1:9 But if you repent ⁶  and obey ⁷  my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, ⁸  I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’ 1:10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your mighty strength and by your powerful hand. 1:11 Please, ⁹  O Lord, listen attentively ¹⁰  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ¹¹  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ¹²  in the presence of this man.”

Now ¹³  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah Is Permitted to Go to Jerusalem

2:1 Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought to me, ¹⁴  I took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously ¹⁵  I had not been depressed ¹⁶  in the king’s presence. ¹⁷  2:2 So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.

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 ¹⁸  lies desolate and its gates destroyed ¹⁹  by fire?” 2:4 The king responded, ²⁰  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven

¹ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The phrase is a hendiadys: the first noun retains its full nominal sense, while the second noun functions adjectivally (“loyal love” = loving). Alternately, the first might function adjectivally and the second noun function as the noun: “covenant and loyal love” = covenant fidelity (see Neh 9:32).

² tn Heb “keep.” The Hebrew verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to observe; to keep”) is often used as an idiom that means “to obey” the commandments of God (e.g., Exod 20:6; Deut 5:16; 23:24; 29:8; Judg 2:22; 1 Kgs 2:43; 11:11; Ps 119:8, 17, 34; Jer 35:18; Ezek 17:14; Amos 2:4). See BDB 1036 s.v. 3.c.

³ tn Heb “have sinned.” For stylistic reasons – to avoid redundancy in English – this was translated as “committed.”

⁴ tn Heb “the house of my father.”

⁵ tn Heb “peoples.”

⁶ tn Heb “turn to me.”

⁷ tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

⁸ tn Heb “at the end of the heavens.”

⁹ tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).

¹⁰ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

¹¹ tn Heb “fear.”

¹² tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

¹³ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

¹⁴ tc The translation reads with the LXX וְיַיִן לְפָנַי (vÿyayin lÿfanay, “and wine before me”) rather than יַיִן לְפָנָיו (yayin lÿfanayv, “wine before him”) of the MT. The initial vav (ו) on original וְיַיִן probably dropped out due to haplograpy or orthographic confusion with the two yods (י) which follow. The final vav on לְפָנָיו in the MT was probably added due to dittography with the vav on the immediately following word.

¹⁵ tc The translation reads לְפָנֵים (lÿfanim, “formerly”) rather than לְפָנָיו (lÿfanayv, “to his face”) of the MT. The MT seems to suggest that Nehemiah was not sad before the king, which is contrary to what follows.

¹⁶ tn Or “showed him a sullen face.” See HALOT 1251 s.v. רַע, רָע 9.

¹⁷ tn This expression is either to be inferred from the context, or perhaps one should read לְפָנָיו (lÿfanayv, “before him”; cf. the MT) in addition to לְפָנִים (lÿfanim, “formerly”). See preceding note on the word “previously.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 5).

¹⁹ tn Heb “devoured” or “eaten” (so also in Neh 2:13).

²⁰ tn Heb “said to me.”