Nehemiah 2:18

2:18 Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what ¹  the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” ²  So they readied themselves ³  for this good project.

Nehemiah 2:20

2:20 I responded to them by saying, “The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. ⁴  But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.” ⁵ 

Nehemiah 3:15

3:15 Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, head of the district of Mizpah, worked on the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, put on its roof, and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars. In addition, he rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam, ⁶  by the royal garden, as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.

Nehemiah 4:16

4:16 From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, ⁷  shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people ⁸  of Judah

Nehemiah 6:1

Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues

6:1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates),

Nehemiah 6:10

6:10 Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. ⁹  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 6:18

6:18 For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him, ¹⁰  because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

Nehemiah 8:10

8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹¹  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:17

8:17 So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy. ¹² 

Nehemiah 9:6

9:6 You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, ¹³  along with all their multitude of stars, ¹⁴  the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You impart life to them all, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

Nehemiah 12:43-44

12:43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard from far away.

12:44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms for the contributions, first fruits, and tithes, to gather into them from ¹⁵  the fields of the cities the portions prescribed by the law for the priests and the Levites, for the people of Judah ¹⁶  took delight in the priests and Levites who were ministering. ¹⁷ 

Nehemiah 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ¹⁸  of the people. They found ¹⁹  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

Nehemiah 13:21

13:21 But I warned them and said, ²⁰  “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” ²¹  From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. ²² 

[2:18]  ¹ tn Heb “the words of the king which he had spoken to me.”

[2:18]  ² tn Heb “Arise! Let us rebuild!”

[2:18]  ³ tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”

[2:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “will arise and build.” The idiom “arise and…” means to begin the action described by the second verb.

[2:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “portion or right or remembrance.” The expression is probably a hendiatris: The first two nouns retain their full nominal function, while the third noun functions adjectivally (“right or remembrance” = “ancient right”).

[3:15]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word translated “Siloam” is הַשֶּׁלַח (hashelakh, “water-channel”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, CEV “Shelah”). It apparently refers to the Pool of Siloam whose water supply came from the Gihon Spring via Hezekiah’s Tunnel built in 701 B.C. (cf. Isa 8:6). See BDB 1019 s.v. שִׁלֹחַ; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 372. On the etymology of the word, which is a disputed matter, see HALOT 1517 s.v. III שֶׁלַח.

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tc The MT reads “and spears.” The conjunction should be deleted.

[4:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the house.”

[6:10]  ¹³ 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.

[6:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “were lords of oath.”

[8:10]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:17]  ²² tn Heb “And there was very great joy.”

[9:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the heavens of the heavens.”

[9:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “all their host.”

[12:44]  ²⁸ tc The translation reads מִשְּׂדֶי (missÿde, “from the fields”) rather than the MT reading לִשְׂדֵי (lisdey, “to the fields”).

[12:44]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for Judah.” The words “the people of” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, since “Judah” is a proper name as well as a place name.

[12:44]  ³⁰ tn Heb “standing.”

[13:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ³² tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[13:21]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew text includes the words “to them,” but they have been excluded from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:21]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I will send a hand on you.”

[13:21]  ³⁶ sn This statement contains a great deal of restrained humor. The author clearly takes pleasure in the effectiveness of the measures that he had enacted.