Nehemiah 9:16

9:16 “But they – our ancestors ¹  – behaved presumptuously; they rebelled ²  and did not obey your commandments.

Nehemiah 9:29

9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ³  will live. They boldly turned from you; ⁴  they rebelled ⁵  and did not obey.

Nehemiah 4:15

4:15 It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, ⁶  God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.

Nehemiah 6:16

6:16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw ⁷  this, they were greatly disheartened. ⁸  They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

¹ tn Heb “and our fathers.” The vav is explicative.

² tn Heb “they stiffened their neck” (so also in the following verse).

³ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

⁴ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

⁵ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

⁵ tn Heb “it was known to us.”

⁷ tc The MT understands the root here to be יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”) rather than רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”).

⁸ 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”).