Nehemiah 13:5

13:5 He made for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been keeping ¹  the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gate keepers, and the offering for the priests.

Nehemiah 13:9

13:9 Then I gave instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I brought back the equipment ²  of the temple of God, along with the grain offering and the incense.

Nehemiah 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ³  of the people. They found ⁴  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

Nehemiah 6:5-10

6:5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6:6 Written in it were the following words:

“Among the nations it is rumored ⁵  (and Geshem ⁶  has substantiated ⁷  this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors ⁸  you are going to become their king. 6:7 You have also established prophets to announce ⁹  in Jerusalem ¹⁰  on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.” ¹¹ 

6:8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. ¹²  All of this is a figment of your imagination.” ¹³ 

6:9 All of them were wanting ¹⁴  to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands! ¹⁵ 

6:10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. ¹⁶  He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”

Nehemiah 6:2

6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim ¹⁷  in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ¹⁸  O Lord, listen attentively ¹⁹  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ²⁰  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ²¹  in the presence of this man.”

Now ²²  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 1:1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1:1 ²³ These are the words of Nehemiah ²⁴  son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ²⁵  I was in Susa ²⁶  the citadel.

[13:5]  ¹ tn Heb “giving.”

[13:9]  ² tn On the usage of this Hebrew word see HALOT 478-79 s.v. כְּלִי.

[13:1]  ³ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[6:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “heard.”

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “Gashmu”; in Neh 2:19 this name appears as Geshem. Since it is important for the modern reader to recognize that this is the same individual, the form of the name used here in the translation is the same as that in v. 19.

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “is saying.”

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “words.” So also in v. 7.

[6:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “call.”

[6:7]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let us consult together.”

[6:8]  ¹² tn Heb “We are not according to these matters that you are saying.”

[6:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “For from your heart you are inventing them.”

[6:9]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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”).

[6:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “shut in.” The reason for his confinement is not stated. BDB 783 s.v. עָצַר suggests that it had to do with the fulfillment of a vow or was related to an issue of ceremonial uncleanness.

[6:2]  ¹⁷ tn It is not entirely clear whether the Hebrew word כְּפִירִים (kÿfirim) is a place-name not mentioned elsewhere in the OT (as indicated in the present translation; so also NAB, NASB) or whether it means “in [one of] the villages” (so, e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT; see BDB 499 s.v.; HALOT 493 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it in the latter sense. Some scholars connect this term with the identically spelled word כּפירים (“lions”) as a figurative description of princes or warriors (e.g., Pss 34:11; 35:17; 58:7; Jer 2:15; Ezek 32:2, 13; Nah 2:14; see HALOT 493 s.v.): “let us meet together with the leaders in the plain of Ono.”

[1:11]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

[1:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fear.”

[1:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

[1:11]  ²² tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

[1:1]  ²³ sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.

[1:1]  ²⁴ sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nÿkhemyah) means “the LORD comforts.”

[1:1]  ²⁵ tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).

[1:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Shushan.”