Obligation 6—Supporting the Temple Personnel. This was a pledge to give the first fruits, best products, and tithes to provide for the needs of the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, and singers who served in the Temple (verses 35-37a).

We obligate ourselves to bring: In Hebrew this is literally “and to bring” since this verse continues the sentence begun in the previous verse. However, Revised Standard Version repeats the verb of obligation to make a complete new sentence. Good News Translation continues with its listing of the various obligations that they will carry out without referring specifically to obligating themselves.

The first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree: The bringing of the first fruits was an early practice of the Israelites (see Exo 23.19). When the people had offered the first fruits to God to whom the whole harvest belonged, then they could use the rest of the harvest for themselves. The Law only referred to the first fruits of the ground, that is, grain. Now the principle of bringing first fruits is extended to the first fruits of all fruit of every tree year by year. Good News Translation makes it explicit that the reference is both to the grain that is harvested and the fruit that is borne on the trees. In many traditional cultures it is the practice to offer the first or the “top” or “head” of the new crops to the spirit of the land or to the ancestors. The technical term for this offering may be appropriate here, though care must be taken to ensure that such a term is acceptable to the Christian community and also that the term used here agrees with the term used in Exo 23.19.

House of the LORD: See the comment at Ezra 1.3.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .