Nehemiah 2:2

2:2 So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.

Nehemiah 2:19

2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, ¹  they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Nehemiah 5:9

5:9 Then I ²  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ³  Should you not conduct yourselves ⁴  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

Nehemiah 9:11

9:11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through ⁵  the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers ⁶  into the depths, like a stone into surging ⁷  waters.

Nehemiah 9:22

9:22 “You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land. ⁸  They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon ⁹  and the land of King Og of Bashan.

Nehemiah 9:26

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ¹⁰  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.

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¹ tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “all this,” but they have been added in the translation for clarity.

² 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”).

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

⁵ tn Heb “in the midst of.”

⁶ tn Heb “those who pursued them.”

⁷ tn Heb “mighty.”

⁸ tn The words “of the land” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tc Most Hebrew MSS read “the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon.” The present translation (along with NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT) follows the reading of one Hebrew MS, the LXX, and the Vulgate.

¹⁰ tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”