Discovery BoxNehemiah 1:6 
Context1:6 may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed 1 against you – both I myself and my family 2 have sinned.
Nehemiah 1:11
Context1:11 Please, 3 O Lord, listen attentively 4 to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect 5 to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me 6 in the presence of this man.”
Now 7 I was cupbearer for the king.
1 tn Heb “have sinned.” For stylistic reasons – to avoid redundancy in English – this was translated as “committed.”
2 tn Heb “the house of my father.”
3 tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).
4 tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”
5 tn Heb “fear.”
6 tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.
7 tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.
