Discovery BoxNehemiah 4:14 
Context4:14 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
Context5:7 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
Context5:12 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
Context7:5 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
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.
