Nehemiah 4:14

4:14 When I had made an inspection, 1  I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord, 2  and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!” 3 

Nehemiah 5:7

5:7 I considered these things carefully 4  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy 5  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral 6  from your own countrymen!” 7  Because of them I called for 8  a great public assembly.

Nehemiah 5:12

5:12 They replied, “We will return these things, 9  and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials 10  swear to do what had been promised. 11 

Nehemiah 7:5

7:5 My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders, 12  the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records 13  of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record: 14 

1 tn Heb “And I saw.”

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

3 tn Heb “houses.”

4 tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”

5 tn Heb “nobles.”

6 tn Heb “taking a creditor’s debt.” The Hebrew noun מַשָּׁא (masha’) means “interest; debt” and probably refers to the collateral (pledge) collected by a creditor (HALOT 641-42 s.v.). This particular noun form appears only in Nehemiah (5:7, 10; 10:32); however, it is related to מַשָּׁאָה (masha’ah, “contractual loan; debt; collateral”) which appears elsewhere (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; cf. Neh 5:11). See the note on the word “people” at the end of v. 5. The BHS editors suggest emending the MT to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”), following several medieval Hebrew MSS; however, the result is not entirely clear: “you are bearing a burden, a man with his brothers.”

7 tn Heb “his brothers.”

8 tn Heb “I gave.”

9 tn The words “these things” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

10 tn Heb “took an oath from them”; the referents (the wealthy and the officials, cf. v. 7) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

11 tn Heb “according to this word.”

12 tn Heb “nobles”; NCV “important men.”

13 tn Heb “the book of genealogy.”

14 tn Heb “in it”; the referent (the genealogical record) has been specified in the translation for clarity.