Nehemiah 2:2

2:2 So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.

Nehemiah 4:1

Opposition to the Work Continues

4:1 (3:33) ¹  Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews,

Nehemiah 4:4-5

4:4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised! Return their reproach on their own head! Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! 4:5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from before them. For they have bitterly offended ²  the builders! ³ 

Nehemiah 6:8-9

6:8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. ⁴  All of this is a figment of your imagination.” ⁵ 

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

So now, strengthen my hands! ⁷ 

Nehemiah 7:2

7:2 I then put in charge over Jerusalem ⁸  my brother Hanani and Hananiah ⁹  the chief of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many do.

Nehemiah 8:5

8:5 Ezra opened the book in plain view ¹⁰  of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, ¹¹  all the people stood up.

Nehemiah 8:12

8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food ¹²  with others ¹³  and to enjoy tremendous joy, ¹⁴  for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.

Nehemiah 9:18

9:18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious ¹⁵  blasphemies.

Nehemiah 13:2

13:2 for they had not met the Israelites with food ¹⁶  and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)

Nehemiah 13:10

13:10 I also discovered that the grain offerings for the Levites had not been provided, and that as a result the Levites and the singers who performed this work had all gone off to their fields.

[4:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:23 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:33 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:34 HT, 4:3 ET = 3:35 HT, 4:4 ET = 3:36 HT, 4:5 ET = 3:37 HT, 4:6 ET = 3:38 HT, 4:7 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 4:23 ET = 4:17 HT. Thus in the Hebrew Bible chap. 3 of the Book of Nehemiah has 38 verses, while chap. 4 has only 17 verses.

[4:5]  ¹ tn The Hiphil stem of כָּעַס (ka’as) may mean: (1) “to provoke to anger”; (2) “to bitterly offend”; or (3) “to grieve” (BDB 495 s.v. Hiph.; HALOT 491 s.v. כעס hif). The Hebrew lexicons suggest that “bitterly offend” is the most appropriate nuance here.

[4:5]  ² tn Heb “before the builders.” The preposition נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) here connotes “in the sight of” or “in the view of” (BDB 617 s.v. 1.a; HALOT 666 s.v. 1.a).

[6:8]  ¹ tn Heb “We are not according to these matters that you are saying.”

[6:8]  ² tn Heb “For from your heart you are inventing them.”

[6:9]  ¹ 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]  ² 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”).

[7:2]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:2]  ² tn Some have suggested that “Hananiah” is another name for Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, so that only one individual is mentioned here. However, the third person plural in v. 3 indicates two people are in view.

[8:5]  ¹ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[8:5]  ² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ¹ tn Heb “to send portions.”

[8:12]  ² tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ³ tn Heb “to make great joy.”

[9:18]  ¹ tn Heb “great.”

[13:2]  ¹ tn Heb “bread.” The Hebrew term is generic here, however, referring to more than bread alone.