Nehemia 2:20

2:20 I responded to them by saying, “The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. ¹  But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.” ² 

Nehemia 4:2

4:2 and in the presence of his colleagues ³  and the army of Samaria ⁴  he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? ⁵  Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

Nehemia 6:1

Opposition to the Rebuilding Efforts Continues

6:1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates),

Nehemia 8:10

8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ⁶  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Nehemia 13:19

13:19 When the evening shadows ⁷  began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered ⁸  the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned ⁹  some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

[2:20]  ¹ tn Heb “will arise and build.” The idiom “arise and…” means to begin the action described by the second verb.

[2:20]  ² tn Heb “portion or right or remembrance.” The expression is probably a hendiatris: The first two nouns retain their full nominal function, while the third noun functions adjectivally (“right or remembrance” = “ancient right”).

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “brothers.”

[4:2]  ⁴ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[4:2]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The present translation follows the MT, but the text may be corrupt. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [WBC], 213-14) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that MT לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (lelohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of BHS. In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra–Nehemiah [OTL], 242-44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the MT reading may be the notion that the workers – if left to their own limited resources – could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (’azav, “to leave”) plus לְ (lÿ, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”

[8:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[13:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”

[13:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “said” (so also in v. 22).

[13:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “caused to stand.”