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.
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!”
4:15 It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, 7 God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.
5:9 Then I 8 said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! 9 Should you not conduct yourselves 10 in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?
1 tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”
2 tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”
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 “it was known to us.”
8 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”).
9 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.
10 tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”
11 tn Heb “my words.”
12 tn Or “to intimidate” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
14 tn Some have suggested that “Hananiah” is another name for Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, so that only one individual is mentioned here. However, the third person plural in v. 3 indicates two people are in view.
15 tn On the usage of this Hebrew word see HALOT 478-79 s.v. כְּלִי.