Nehemiah 5:9

5:9 Then I ¹  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ²  Should you not conduct yourselves ³  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

Nehemiah 5:17

5:17 There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, ⁴  in addition to those who came to us from the nations ⁵  all around us.

Nehemiah 6:16

6:16 When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw ⁶  this, they were greatly disheartened. ⁷  They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

[5:9]  ¹ tc The translation reads with the Qere and the ancient versions וָאוֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the MT Kethib, וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[5:9]  ² tn Heb “not good.” The statement “The thing…is not good” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression which emphasizes the intended point (“The thing…is wrong!”) by negating its opposite.

[5:9]  ³ tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “who were gathered around us at my table.”

[5:17]  ⁵ tn Or “from the Gentiles.” The same Hebrew word can refer to “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” Cf. the phrase in 6:16.

[6:16]  ⁷ tc The MT understands the root here to be יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”) rather than רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”).

[6:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “they greatly fell [i.e., were cast down] in their own eyes.” Some scholars suggest emending the reading of the MT, וַיִּפְּלוּ (vayyipÿlu) to וַיִּפָּלֵא (vayyippale’, “it was very extraordinary in their eyes”).