Nehemiah 3:5

3:5 The men of Tekoa worked on the section adjacent to them, but their town leaders ¹  would not assist ²  with the work of their master. ³ 

Nehemiah 4:21

4:21 So we worked on, ⁴  with half ⁵  holding spears, from dawn till dusk. ⁶ 

[3:5]  ¹ tn Heb “their nobles.”

[3:5]  ² tn Heb “bring their neck.”

[3:5]  ³ tn The plural form אֲדֹנֵיהֶם (’adonehem, “lords”) is probably a plural of majesty referring to Nehemiah (e.g., Isa 19:4; see GKC 399 §124.i). However, some English versions take the plural to refer to the “supervisors” (NIV, NCV, TEV) and others to “their Lord” (KJV, NRSV).

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and we were doing the work.”

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “half of them.”

[4:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the coming up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.”