Nehemiah 7:4-5

7:4 Now the city was spread out ¹  and large, and there were not a lot of people in it. ²  At that time houses had not been rebuilt. 7:5 My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders, ³  the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records ⁴  of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record: ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 17:8-9

Appeal to a Higher Court

17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ⁶  legal claim, ⁷  or assault ⁸  – matters of controversy in your villages ⁹  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ¹⁰  17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

Psalms 122:5

122:5 Indeed, ¹¹  the leaders sit ¹²  there on thrones and make legal decisions,

on the thrones of the house of David. ¹³ 

¹ tn Heb “wide of two hands.”

² tn Heb “the people were few in its midst.”

³ tn Heb “nobles”; NCV “important men.”

⁴ tn Heb “the book of genealogy.”

⁵ tn Heb “in it”; the referent (the genealogical record) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “between blood and blood.”

⁷ tn Heb “between claim and claim.”

⁸ tn Heb “between blow and blow.”

⁹ tn Heb “gates.”

¹⁰ tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.

¹¹ tn Or “for.”

¹² tn Or “sat.”

¹³ tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”