Nehemiah 1:9

1:9 But if you repent ¹  and obey ²  my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, ³  I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ⁴  O Lord, listen attentively ⁵  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ⁶  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ⁷  in the presence of this man.”

Now ⁸  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 9:5

9:5 The Levites – Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah – said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God!”

“May you be blessed, O LORD our God, from age to age. ⁹  May your glorious name ¹⁰  be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise.

Nehemiah 9:10

9:10 You performed awesome signs ¹¹  against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians ¹²  had acted presumptuously ¹³  against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “turn to me.”

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “at the end of the heavens.”

[1:11]  ⁴ 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).

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “fear.”

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

[1:11]  ⁸ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

[9:5]  ⁷ tc The MT reads here only “from age to age,” without the preceding words “May you be blessed, O LORD our God” which are included in the present translation. But apparently something has dropped out of the text. This phrase occurs elsewhere in the OT as a description of the Lord (see Ps 41:13; 106:48), and it seems best to understand it here in that light. The LXX adds “And Ezra said” at the beginning of v. 6 as a transition: “And Ezra said, ‘You alone are the LORD.” Without this addition (which is not included by most modern English translations) the speakers of vv. 9:5b-10:1 continue to be the Levites of v. 5a.

[9:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “the name of your glory.”

[9:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “signs and wonders.” This phrase is a hendiadys. The second noun functions adjectivally, while the first noun retains its full nominal sense: “awesome signs” or “miraculous signs.”

[9:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:10]  ¹² tn Or “arrogantly” (so NASB); NRSV “insolently.”