Nehemiah 2:1

Nehemiah Is Permitted to Go to Jerusalem

2:1 Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought to me, ¹  I took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously ²  I had not been depressed ³  in the king’s presence. ⁴ 

Nehemiah 2:12

2:12 I got up during the night, along with a few men who were with me. But I did not tell anyone what my God was putting on my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me, except for the one ⁵  I was riding.

Nehemiah 5:13

5:13 I also shook out my garment, ⁶  and I said, “In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out ⁷  this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!” All the assembly replied, “So be it!” and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. ⁸ 

Nehemiah 5:15

5:15 But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to ⁹  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 5:18

5:18 Every day one ox, six select sheep, and some birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Despite all this I did not require the food allotted to the governor, for the work was demanding on this people.

Nehemiah 7:3

7:3 I ¹⁰  said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, ¹¹  until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. ¹²  Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.”

Nehemiah 8:9-10

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, ¹³  Ezra the priestly scribe, ¹⁴  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ¹⁵  “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law. 8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹⁶  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Nehemiah 9:32

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ¹⁷  – do not regard as inconsequential ¹⁸  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

Nehemiah 9:35

9:35 Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible ¹⁹  goodness that you had lavished ²⁰  on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set ²¹  before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.

Nehemiah 10:31

10:31 We will not buy ²²  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. ²³ 

Nehemiah 10:39

10:39 The Israelites and the Levites will bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms where the utensils of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister stay, along with the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the temple of our God.”

Nehemiah 13:19

13:19 When the evening shadows ²⁴  began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered ²⁵  the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned ²⁶  some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

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 ²⁷  him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin!

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¹ tc The translation reads with the LXX וְיַיִן לְפָנַי (vÿyayin lÿfanay, “and wine before me”) rather than יַיִן לְפָנָיו (yayin lÿfanayv, “wine before him”) of the MT. The initial vav (ו) on original וְיַיִן probably dropped out due to haplograpy or orthographic confusion with the two yods (י) which follow. The final vav on לְפָנָיו in the MT was probably added due to dittography with the vav on the immediately following word.

² tc The translation reads לְפָנֵים (lÿfanim, “formerly”) rather than לְפָנָיו (lÿfanayv, “to his face”) of the MT. The MT seems to suggest that Nehemiah was not sad before the king, which is contrary to what follows.

³ tn Or “showed him a sullen face.” See HALOT 1251 s.v. רַע, רָע 9.

⁴ tn This expression is either to be inferred from the context, or perhaps one should read לְפָנָיו (lÿfanayv, “before him”; cf. the MT) in addition to לְפָנִים (lÿfanim, “formerly”). See preceding note on the word “previously.”

⁵ tn Heb “the animal.”

⁶ tn Heb “my bosom.”

⁷ tn Heb “cause to stand.”

⁸ tn Heb “according to this word.”

⁹ 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.”

¹⁰ 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”).

¹¹ 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).

¹² 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.

¹³ tc The unexpected reference to Nehemiah here has led some scholars to suspect that the phrase “Nehemiah the governor” is a later addition to the text and not original.

¹⁴ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

¹⁷ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

¹⁸ tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “great.”

²⁰ tn Heb “given them.”

²¹ tn Heb “given.”

²² tn Heb “take.”

²³ tn Heb “debt of every hand,” an idiom referring to the hand that holds legally binding contractual agreements.

²⁴ tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”

²⁵ tn Heb “said” (so also in v. 22).

²⁶ tn Heb “caused to stand.”

²⁷ tn Heb “gave.”