Nehemiah 8:14

8:14 They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through ¹  Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month,

Nehemiah 13:1-3

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ²  of the people. They found ³  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God, 13:2 for they had not met the Israelites with food ⁴  and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.) 13:3 When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry.

Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ⁵  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ⁶ 

[8:14]  ¹ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ³ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[13:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “bread.” The Hebrew term is generic here, however, referring to more than bread alone.

[8:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).