Nehemiah 5:9

5:9 Then I ¹  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ²  Should you not conduct yourselves ³  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

Nehemiah 7:2

7:2 I then put in charge over Jerusalem ⁴  my brother Hanani and Hananiah ⁵  the chief of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many do.

Nehemiah 5:15

5:15 But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to ⁶  forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God.

Nehemiah 6:14

6:14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs – also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were trying to scare me!

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ⁷  O Lord, listen attentively ⁸  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ⁹  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ¹⁰  in the presence of this man.”

Now ¹¹  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 2:2

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.

Nehemiah 6:19

6:19 They were telling me about his good deeds and then taking back to him the things I said. ¹²  Tobiah, on the other hand, sent letters in order to scare ¹³  me.

Nehemiah 4:14

4:14 When I had made an inspection, ¹⁴  I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord, ¹⁵  and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!” ¹⁶ 

Nehemiah 6:16

6:16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw ¹⁷  this, they were greatly disheartened. ¹⁸  They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Nehemiah 1:5

1:5 Then I said, “Please, O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant ¹⁹  with those who love him and obey ²⁰  his commandments,

Nehemiah 6:9

6:9 All of them were wanting ²¹  to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands! ²² 

Nehemiah 6:13

6:13 He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I ²³  would be discredited. ²⁴ 

Nehemiah 9:32

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ²⁵  – do not regard as inconsequential ²⁶  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

¹ 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”).

² 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.

³ tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵ tn Some have suggested that “Hananiah” is another name for Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, so that only one individual is mentioned here. However, the third person plural in v. 3 indicates two people are in view.

⁷ tc The Hebrew term אַחַר (’akhar) is difficult here. It normally means “after,” but that makes no sense here. Some scholars emend it to אַחַד (’akhad) and supply the word “day,” which yields the sense “daily.” Cf. TEV “40 silver coins a day for food and wine.”

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

¹² tn Heb “fear.”

¹³ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

¹⁴ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

¹³ tn Heb “my words.”

¹⁴ tn Or “to intimidate” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

¹⁶ tn Heb “And I saw.”

¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

¹⁸ tn Heb “houses.”

¹⁹ tc The MT understands the root here to be יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”) rather than רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”).

²⁰ tn Heb “they greatly fell [i.e., were cast down] in their own eyes.” Some scholars suggest emending the reading of the MT, וַיִּפְּלוּ (vayyipÿlu) to וַיִּפָּלֵא (vayyippale’, “it was very extraordinary in their eyes”).

²² 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).

²³ 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.

²⁵ tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.

²⁶ tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).

²⁸ tc The translation reads לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the MT reading לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”).

²⁹ tn Heb “would have a bad name.”

³¹ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

³² tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”