This verse is parenthetical, again drawing attention to the fact that not everyone lived in Jerusalem, including priests and Levites. The Hebrew text does not have and between Israel and priests or between priests and Levites, so the latter two words could be translated “Levitical priests.” It is recommended that the and be included in the translation. Some consider the words and of the priests and the Levites to be a scribal addition and omit them (see Revised English Bible), but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives the Hebrew text with the inclusion of these words a B rating. New Jerusalem Bible and Contemporary Chinese Bible move this verse to follow verse 24, on the grounds that verses 21-24 have been inserted into the text. However, it is preferable for the translator not to transpose verses, but rather to use a footnote for explanation. The footnote might read as follows: “Some people believe that verse 20 is out of place here and they move it after verse 24, but it should remain here where it is found in the Hebrew text.”

Every one in his inheritance: Inheritance is a key term in the Old Testament. The basic meaning of this word is property that one receives from an ancestor or from someone who has died. It is received by right or through a will. In the Old Testament it is frequently used of the land of Canaan that God promised to give to his people as a possession. Here it refers to the land possessed by individual people. The phrase every one in his inheritance is equivalent to “every one lived on his property in their towns” in verse 3 above. But the word inheritance also evokes the theme of the inalienable right of a man or woman to the land that God has given and that they have inherited (see Gen 31.14; Num 27.6-11). Some translations render the Hebrew literally with the term “inheritance” (New American Standard Bible, Darby), but some include both the concept of inheriting and of property, for example, “inherited property” (Revised English Bible), “ancestral property” (New International Version), and “patrimony” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Translators should follow these models of rendering the twin concepts of inheriting and of property.

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 .