Nehemiah 5:14-15

5:14 From the day that I was appointed ¹  governor ²  in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes – twelve years in all – neither I nor my relatives ³  ate the food allotted to the governor. ⁴  5:15 But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to ⁵  forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God.

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 7:3

7:3 I ⁶  said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, ⁷  until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. ⁸  Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.”

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. ⁹ 

Nehemiah 9:35

9:35 Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible ¹⁰  goodness that you had lavished ¹¹  on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set ¹²  before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.

Nehemiah 10:31

10:31 We will not buy ¹³  on the Sabbath or on a holy day from the neighboring peoples who bring their wares and all kinds of grain to sell on the Sabbath day. We will let the fields lie fallow every seventh year, and we will cancel every loan. ¹⁴ 

Nehemiah 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ¹⁵  of the people. They found ¹⁶  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

Nehemiah 13:6

13:6 During all this time I was not in Jerusalem, ¹⁷  for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After some time ¹⁸  I had requested leave of the king,

Nehemiah 13:21

13:21 But I warned them and said, ¹⁹  “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” ²⁰  From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. ²¹ 

Nehemiah 13:26

13:26 Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made ²²  him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin!

[5:14]  ¹ tc The BHS editors suggest reading צֻוֵּאתִי (tsuvve’ti, “and I was appointed”) rather than the reading of the MT, אֹתִי צִוָּה (tsivvah ’oti, “he appointed me”).

[5:14]  ² tc The translation reads with one medieval Hebrew MS פֶּחָה (pekhah, “governor”) rather than פֶּחָם (pekham, “their governor”) of the MT. One would expect the form with pronominal suffix to have a tav (ת) before the suffix.

[5:14]  ³ tn Heb “brothers.”

[5:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the food of the governor.” Cf. v. 18.

[5:15]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew term אַחַר (’akhar) is difficult here. It normally means “after,” but that makes no sense here. Some scholars emend it to אַחַד (’akhad) and supply the word “day,” which yields the sense “daily.” Cf. TEV “40 silver coins a day for food and wine.”

[7:3]  ⁹ tc The present translation (along with most English versions) reads with the Qere, a Qumran text, and the ancient versions וָאֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, which reads וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “until the heat of the sun.” The phrase probably means that the gates were to be opened only after the day had progressed a bit, not at the first sign of morning light (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV). It is possible, however, that the Hebrew preposition עַד (’ad), here translated as “until,” has a more rare sense of “during.” If so, this would mean that the gates were not to be left open and unattended during the hot part of the day when people typically would be at rest (cf. NLT).

[7:3]  ¹¹ tn Presumably this would mean the gates were not to be opened until later in the morning and were to remain open until evening. Some, however, have understood Nehemiah’s instructions to mean that the gates were not to be left open during the hottest part of the day, but must be shut and locked while the guards are still on duty. See J. Barr, “Hebrew עַד, especially at Job i.18 and Neh vii.3,” JJS 27 (1982): 177-88.

[8:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “And there was very great joy.”

[9:35]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “great.”

[9:35]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “given them.”

[9:35]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “given.”

[10:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “take.”

[10:31]  ²² tn Heb “debt of every hand,” an idiom referring to the hand that holds legally binding contractual agreements.

[13:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[13:6]  ²⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to the end of days.”

[13:21]  ³³ tn The Hebrew text includes the words “to them,” but they have been excluded from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:21]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I will send a hand on you.”

[13:21]  ³⁵ 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.

[13:26]  ³⁷ tn Heb “gave.”