Nehemiah 1:1

¹ These are the words of Nehemiah ²  son of Hacaliah: It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ³  I was in Susa ⁴  the citadel.

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol,

These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In late autumn of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa.

The memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. It was the month of Kislev in the twentieth year. At the time I was in the palace complex at Susa.

The history of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now it came about, in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, when I was in Shushan, the king’s town,

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital,

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel,

¹ These are the words of Nehemiah ²  son of Hacaliah: It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ³  I was in Susa ⁴  the citadel.

¹ sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.

² sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nÿkhemyah) means “the LORD comforts.”

³ tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).

⁴ tn Heb “Shushan.”