Nehemiah 3:5

3:5 The men of Tekoa worked on the section adjacent to them, but their town leaders ¹  would not assist ²  with the work of their master. ³ 

Nehemiah 5:7

5:7 I considered these things carefully ⁴  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ⁵  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ⁶  from your own countrymen!” ⁷  Because of them I called for ⁸  a great public assembly.

Nehemiah 13:28

13:28 Now one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I banished him from my sight.

Micah 7:1-6

Micah Laments Judah’s Sin

7:1 I am depressed! ⁹ 

Indeed, ¹⁰  it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,

and the grapes have been harvested. ¹¹ 

There is no grape cluster to eat,

no fresh figs that I crave so much. ¹² 

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ¹³  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ¹⁴ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ¹⁵ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ¹⁶ 

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹⁷ 

government officials and judges take bribes, ¹⁸ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ¹⁹ 

7:4 The best of them is like a thorn;

the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. ²⁰ 

The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen –

your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, ²¹ 

and then you will experience confusion. ²² 

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ²³ 

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges ²⁴  her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants. ²⁵ 

Matthew 24:10-12

24:10 Then many will be led into sin, ²⁶  and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive ²⁷  many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold.

¹ tn Heb “their nobles.”

² tn Heb “bring their neck.”

³ tn The plural form אֲדֹנֵיהֶם (’adonehem, “lords”) is probably a plural of majesty referring to Nehemiah (e.g., Isa 19:4; see GKC 399 §124.i). However, some English versions take the plural to refer to the “supervisors” (NIV, NCV, TEV) and others to “their Lord” (KJV, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”

⁵ tn Heb “nobles.”

⁶ 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.”

⁷ tn Heb “his brothers.”

⁸ tn Heb “I gave.”

⁹ tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”

¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

¹¹ tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”

¹² tn Heb “my appetite craves.”

¹³ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

¹⁶ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.

¹⁷ tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

¹⁹ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.

²⁰ tn Heb “[the] godly from a row of thorn bushes.” The preposition מִן (min) is comparative and the comparative element (perhaps “sharper” is the idea) is omitted. See BDB 582 s.v. 6 and GKC 431 §133.e.

²¹ tn Heb “the day of your watchmen, your appointed [time], is coming.” The present translation takes “watchmen” to refer to actual sentries. However, the “watchmen” could refer figuratively to the prophets who had warned Judah of approaching judgment. In this case one could translate, “The day your prophets warned about – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way.”

²² tn Heb “and now will be their confusion.”

²³ tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”

²⁴ tn Heb “rises up against.”

²⁵ tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”

²⁶ tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.

²⁷ tn Or “and lead many astray.”