Nehemiah 1:2-4

1:2 Hanani, who was one of my relatives, 1  along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, 2  and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. 3 

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable 4  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” 5 

1:4 When I heard these things I sat down abruptly, 6  crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

1 tn Heb “brothers.”

2 tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “to me”; these words were supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

4 tn Heb “great.”

5 tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

6 tn Heb “sat down.” Context suggests that this was a rather sudden action, resulting from the emotional shock of the unpleasant news, so “abruptly” has been supplied in the present translation.