1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable 1 adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” 2
3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest and his priestly colleagues 3 arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated 4 it and erected its doors, working as far as the Tower of the Hundred 5 and 6 the Tower of Hananel.
3:13 Hanun and the residents of Zanoah worked on the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars, in addition to working on fifteen hundred feet 7 of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
4:3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”
4:7 (4:1) 8 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem 9 had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.
4:11 Our adversaries also boasted, 10 “Before they are aware or anticipate 11 anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
7:6 These are the people 15 of the province who returned 16 from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile. 17 They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his own city.
9:22 “You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land. 26 They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon 27 and the land of King Og of Bashan.
13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing 33 of the people. They found 34 written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,
1 tn Heb “great.”
2 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.
3 tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”
4 tn Or “consecrated” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, ASV “sanctified”; NCV “gave it to the Lord’s service.”
5 tc The MT adds קִדְּשׁוּהוּ (qidshuhu, “they sanctified it”). This term is repeated from the first part of the verse, probably as an intentional scribal addition to harmonize this statement with the preceding parallel statement.
6 tc The translation reads וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “and unto”) rather than the MT reading עַד (ad, “unto”). The original vav (ו) was probably dropped accidentally due to haplography with the final vav on the immediately preceding word in the MT.
7 tn Heb “one thousand cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long, so this section of the wall would be about fifteen hundred feet (450 m).
8 sn Chapter 4 begins here in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 4:1.
9 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
10 tn Heb “said.”
11 tn Heb “see.”
12 tn It is not entirely clear whether the Hebrew word כְּפִירִים (kÿfirim) is a place-name not mentioned elsewhere in the OT (as indicated in the present translation; so also NAB, NASB) or whether it means “in [one of] the villages” (so, e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT; see BDB 499 s.v.; HALOT 493 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it in the latter sense. Some scholars connect this term with the identically spelled word כּפירים (“lions”) as a figurative description of princes or warriors (e.g., Pss 34:11; 35:17; 58:7; Jer 2:15; Ezek 32:2, 13; Nah 2:14; see HALOT 493 s.v.): “let us meet together with the leaders in the plain of Ono.”
13 tn Heb “my words.”
14 tn Or “to intimidate” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
15 tn Heb “the sons of”; KJV, ASV “the children of”; NAB “the inhabitants of.”
16 tn Heb “who were going up.”
17 tc One medieval Hebrew manuscript has “to Babylon.” Cf. Ezra 2:1.
18 tn Heb “like one man.”
19 tn Heb “said [to].”
20 tn Heb “to send portions.”
21 tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “to make great joy.”
23 tn Heb “in the midst of.”
24 tn Heb “those who pursued them.”
25 tn Heb “mighty.”
26 tn The words “of the land” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
27 tc Most Hebrew
28 tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “did not give ear to.”
30 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
31 tn Or “the Old Gate” (so KJV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
32 tn Heb “they stood.”
33 tn Heb “ears.”
34 tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.
35 tn The Hebrew text includes the words “to them,” but they have been excluded from the translation for stylistic reasons.
36 tn Heb “I will send a hand on you.”
37 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.