Nehemiah 1:2-3

1:2 Hanani, who was one of my relatives, ¹  along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, ²  and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. ³ 

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable ⁴  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” ⁵ 

Nehemiah 3:20

3:20 After him Baruch son of Zabbai worked on another section, from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

Nehemiah 5:17

5:17 There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, ⁶  in addition to those who came to us from the nations ⁷  all around us.

Nehemiah 6:9

6:9 All of them were wanting ⁸  to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands! ⁹ 

Nehemiah 7:63

7:63 And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a woman from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).

Nehemiah 7:73

7:73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities.

The People Respond to the Reading of the Law

When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ¹⁰  were settled in their cities, ¹¹ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[1:2]  ² tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “to me”; these words were supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:2]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “great.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

[5:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “who were gathered around us at my table.”

[5:17]  ⁸ tn Or “from the Gentiles.” The same Hebrew word can refer to “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” Cf. the phrase in 6:16.

[6:9]  ¹⁰ tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.

[6:9]  ¹¹ tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).

[7:73]  ¹³ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.” So also in vv. 14, 17; 9:1.

[7:73]  ¹⁴ tn The traditional understanding of the chapter and verse division here is probably incorrect. The final part of v. 73 is best understood as belonging with 8:1.