“Among the nations it is rumored 1 (and Geshem 2 has substantiated 3 this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors 4 you are going to become their king.
8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, 5 Ezra the priestly scribe, 6 and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, 7 “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.
1 tn Heb “heard.”
2 tn Heb “Gashmu”; in Neh 2:19 this name appears as Geshem. Since it is important for the modern reader to recognize that this is the same individual, the form of the name used here in the translation is the same as that in v. 19.
3 tn Heb “is saying.”
4 tn Heb “words.” So also in v. 7.
5 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.
6 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”
7 tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.