Nehemiah 9:18

9:18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious ¹  blasphemies.

Nehemiah 9:2

9:2 Those truly of Israelite descent ²  separated from all the foreigners, ³  standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. ⁴ 

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ⁵  O Lord, listen attentively ⁶  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ⁷  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ⁸  in the presence of this man.”

Now ⁹  I was cupbearer for the king.

Ezekiel 22:25-31

22:25 Her princes ¹⁰  within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows ¹¹  within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, ¹²  or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore ¹³  my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ¹⁴  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ¹⁵ 

22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. ¹⁶  22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, ¹⁷  declares the sovereign Lord.”

¹ tn Heb “great.”

² tn Heb “the seed of Israel.”

³ tn Heb “sons of a foreigner.”

⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 16, 23, 32, 34, 36).

⁵ 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).

⁶ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

⁷ tn Heb “fear.”

⁸ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

⁹ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

¹⁰ tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.

¹¹ tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.

¹² tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”

¹³ tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).

¹⁴ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

¹⁵ tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “I did not find.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”