¹ tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (ʾariʾel, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.

² tn Heb “or his offspring searching for food.” The expression “search for food” also appears in Lam 1:11, where Jerusalem’s refugees are forced to search for food and to trade their valuable possessions for something to eat.

³ tc For the MT reading שֹׂבֵר (sover, “inspecting”) the LXX erroneously has שֹׁבֵר (shover, “breaking”). However, further destruction of Jerusalem’s walls was obviously not a part of Nehemiah’s purpose.

¹ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “when [he was] ruling in Jerusalem,” but the marginal reading (Qere), which has support from Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses, has “[preventing him] from ruling in Jerusalem.”

¹ tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?

² tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

⁴ sn Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1-7).

¹ sn All the things he had done in Jerusalem probably refers to the signs mentioned in John 2:23.

⁴ tn Grk “And Jerusalem.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹ sn The temple is on a hill in Jerusalem, so one would go up to enter its precincts.

⁴ sn Jesus was now attracting attention outside of Galilee as far away as Jerusalem, the main city of Israel.

² sn Three days means there was one day out, another day back, and a third day of looking in Jerusalem.

² sn The return to Jerusalem would have taken a second day, since they were already one day’s journey away.

² tn Here the city (Jerusalem) is put by metonymy for its inhabitants (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 579).

⁶ sn From the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses indicates the extent of Jerusalem from north to south.

² tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

⁶ tn Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, represents the nation’s behavior. The rhetorical question expects an affirmative answer.

¹ tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.