Isaiah 61:4

61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins

and restore the places that were desolate; ¹ 

they will reestablish the ruined cities,

the places that have been desolate since ancient times.

Nehemiah 2:5

2:5 and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined ²  and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.”

Nehemiah 2:17

2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”

Nehemiah 4:1-6

Opposition to the Work Continues

4:1 (3:33) ³  Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews, 4:2 and in the presence of his colleagues ⁴  and the army of Samaria ⁵  he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? ⁶  Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

4:3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

4:4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised! Return their reproach on their own head! Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! 4:5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from before them. For they have bitterly offended ⁷  the builders! ⁸ 

4:6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. ⁹  The people were enthusiastic in their work. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 31:38

Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged

31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” ¹¹  says the Lord, ¹²  “when the city of Jerusalem ¹³  will be rebuilt as my special city. ¹⁴  It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. ¹⁵ 

Ezekiel 36:4

36:4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about –

Ezekiel 36:8-11

36:8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches, and bear your fruit for my people Israel; for they will arrive soon. ¹⁶  36:9 For indeed, I am on your side; ¹⁷  I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted. 36:10 I will multiply your people ¹⁸  – the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt. 36:11 I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. ¹⁹  I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. ²⁰  Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 36:33

36:33 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will populate the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt.

Amos 9:14

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ²¹ 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ²²  and settle down. ²³ 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ²⁴ 

they will grow orchards ²⁵  and eat the fruit they produce. ²⁶ 

[61:4]  ¹ tn Heb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.” So also in v. 7.

[4:1]  ³ sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:23 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:33 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:34 HT, 4:3 ET = 3:35 HT, 4:4 ET = 3:36 HT, 4:5 ET = 3:37 HT, 4:6 ET = 3:38 HT, 4:7 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 4:23 ET = 4:17 HT. Thus in the Hebrew Bible chap. 3 of the Book of Nehemiah has 38 verses, while chap. 4 has only 17 verses.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “brothers.”

[4:2]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[4:2]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The present translation follows the MT, but the text may be corrupt. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [WBC], 213-14) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that MT לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (lelohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of BHS. In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra–Nehemiah [OTL], 242-44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the MT reading may be the notion that the workers – if left to their own limited resources – could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (’azav, “to leave”) plus לְ (lÿ, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”

[4:5]  ⁷ tn The Hiphil stem of כָּעַס (ka’as) may mean: (1) “to provoke to anger”; (2) “to bitterly offend”; or (3) “to grieve” (BDB 495 s.v. Hiph.; HALOT 491 s.v. כעס hif). The Hebrew lexicons suggest that “bitterly offend” is the most appropriate nuance here.

[4:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “before the builders.” The preposition נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) here connotes “in the sight of” or “in the view of” (BDB 617 s.v. 1.a; HALOT 666 s.v. 1.a).

[4:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “up to its half.”

[4:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the people had a heart to work.”

[31:38]  ¹¹ tc The words “is coming” (בָּאִים, ba’im) are not in the written text (Kethib) but are supplied in the margin (Qere), in several Hebrew mss and in the versions. It is part of the idiom that also occurs in vv. 27, 31.

[31:38]  ¹² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:38]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:38]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the city will be built to [or for] the Lord.” The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity. However, the word occurs in a first person speech so the translation has accommodated the switch in person as it has in a number of other places (compare also NIV, TEV, ICV).

[31:38]  ¹⁵ tn The word “westward” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to give some orientation.

[36:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “they draw near to arrive.”

[36:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I (am) toward you.”

[36:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”

[36:11]  ¹⁹ sn These verbs occur together in Gen 1:22, 28; 9:1.

[36:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your beginning.”

[9:14]  ²¹ tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).

[9:14]  ²² tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ²³ tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ²⁵ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”