I provided for the wood offering … and for the first fruits: Nehemiah also takes credit for making provision or for establishing regulations for the firewood for the Temple and for gathering the offerings of the first fruits. The wood offering was regulated in Neh 10.34 as part of the oath taken by the people. The arrangements for the collection of the first fruits were also part of the oath in Neh 10.35-39, and their gathering and distribution were regulated in Neh 12.44-47. Good News Translation specifies what offerings the people were to bring on the basis of Neh 10.35, and translators may wish to do the same in order to avoid possible ambiguity about the meaning of first fruits.

For at appointed times, see the comments at Ezra 10.14 and Neh 10.34.

Remember me, O my God, for good: In conclusion, Nehemiah prays the prayer that he has prayed earlier in Neh 5.19 and verses 14, 22 and 29 of this chapter. Up to now it has been in the form of an interruption in his account. Here it is his conclusion, and this is the shortest version of the prayer. He only asks God to Remember him for good or “favourably” (Revised English Bible). He leaves it implicit that he is asking his God to remember him because of all that he has done for the Temple and its personnel. This is a request for God’s blessing and protection (see Ezra 8.22; Neh 2.18), and it provides the ending to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The closing prayer is final in its brevity and abruptness. Translators should render it similarly to its form in the earlier versions, if possible, repeating the form of the first part of the prayer in Neh 5.19, with which it is identical. The prayer should be grammatically and syntactically complete. It may be presented in the form of an exclamation as in Revised English Bible, which has “God, remember me favourably!” Like the earlier prayers, it may be set apart in a separate paragraph as in Good News Translation.

The text ends here without any formal discourse mark of the closing of the narrative of Ezra-Nehemiah. No special discourse markings should be used to draw the book to a close because none are used in the Hebrew text. Nehemiah’s short prayer constitutes the end of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Remember: The concept of remembering is a very common and important one in the Old Testament. It occurs several times in this book (4.14; 5.19; 6.14; 13.14, 22, 29, 31). The primary idea is recalling events that took place in the past, but this concept is often used with a present or future sense; that is, the past should be recalled so that action will be taken in the future. The action that is called for may be a reward or it may be punishment. Here Nehemiah pleads with God or urges God to “think about” or “reflect on” what he said to Moses in the past and to take action accordingly. The word naʾ is used in Hebrew with the imperative verb Remember to indicate urgency. Good News Translation has translated this as “now,” while Bible en français courant renders it “yet.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “I beg you.” In modern English usage, Contemporary English Version translates “Please.” See the comment on verse 6 above.

Word is the object of the verb Remember. Nehemiah asks God to recall the word that he commanded to Moses. However, although the Hebrew word for word is singular in form, it does not refer to a single word (compare Ezra 1.1). Instead, it refers to the covenant agreement that God made with his people from which Nehemiah quotes an essential part. In some languages the object of the verb will be the “thing” that God told to Moses, and in others it will be necessary to use a plural form, for example, “words.”

Which thou didst command thy servant Moses: Note the repetition from the preceding verse. Although command is an appropriate translation of the Hebrew verb here when applied to commandments and decrees in the previous verse, a literal translation perhaps should not be used in this context. For example, for the first part of this verse, New International Version translates “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses,” while Contemporary English Version says “Please remember the promise you made to Moses.” Nehemiah cites the blessings that will result from keeping the covenant between God and Israel and the curses that will result from not keeping it.

Saying: This translates the Hebrew infinitive construction that introduces the quotation that Nehemiah will repeat. Most English versions omit a direct rendering of this expression because it is unnecessary. It follows the verb of speaking that has already been translated as command (Good News Translation “told”). The whole introduction to the quotation may be rendered “Remember nevertheless the word that Moses addressed to us on your behalf” (Bible en français courant).

If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples: The pronouns you (first occurrence) and I are emphatic in Hebrew, giving a solemn tone to this statement. Good News Translation makes explicit that God was speaking to the Israelites and not to Moses alone by rendering you as “you people of Israel.” A covenant agreement is based on a condition. If something takes place, there will be a direct consequence of that event or act. The condition here is unfaithfulness. The Hebrew word for unfaithful here is a verb whose basic meaning is “to act treacherously, to be faithless” (see Ezra 9.2, where Revised Standard Version has “faithlessness”; 10.2, where it has “broken faith”; and 10.10, where it has “trespassed”), and it is used for breaking an oath or a covenant. Some languages may say “If you [plural] are not straight….” The result of this act will be that I will scatter you among the peoples. The action of scattering is to cause people to disperse in different directions so that they are no longer together. This is the same verb that is used when God caused humankind to scatter all over the world from the Tower of Babel (Gen 11.4, 8-9). Nehemiah recognized that the condition had been fulfilled. Indeed, the people of Israel had been scattered among the peoples because they had been unfaithful to the covenant relationship with God.

The Hebrew word ʿam in the singular means “people” or “nation” and is often used to refer to the people of Israel in contrast to other nations (see Ezra 1.3; 8.15). The plural form ʿammim as used here and rendered peoples refers to “other nations” (Good News Translation) or “foreign nations” (Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant).

Nehemiah summarizes Deut 30.1-4 in verses 8b-9 but his words are recorded as though he is directly quoting what God said to the people of Israel when he established the covenant with them. The text uses a direct quotation within a direct quotation. In some languages it may appear to be more natural style to restructure this second level quotation in the form of indirect quotation; for example, “You told him that if we were unfaithful…” (Contemporary English Version). However, doing this may have the effect of weakening the impact of the words because they are no longer direct as they are in the original text. Translators will need to use the appropriate form of quotation to make the levels of quotation and their meaning clear and strong.

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 .

Malchijah is a common name that occurs six other times in Nehemiah (3.14, 31; 8.4; 10.3; 11.12; 12.42). It also occurs twice in the mixed-marriage list of Ezra (10.25, 31).

The name Hasshub occurs three additional times in Nehemiah (3.23; 10.23; 11.15), but only here is the identification the son of Pahathmoab given. This is a family or clan name meaning “ruler of Moab.” Good News Translation transliterates it as two separate words. Other versions use a hyphen between the two parts (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). See Ezra 2.6 for comments on the writing of this name.

Repaired another section is literally “repaired a second section.” This expression occurs several times in the following verses (19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 30). Some translations, including Revised English Bible and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, retain “second” in each instance, without indicating what the first section would be. Hasshub did indeed repair two sections (see verse 23 below), and some others did likewise (see verses 4 and 21, 18 and 24, 5 and 27). Some commentators believe that the list may be incomplete, so not every occurrence of “a second section” is matched with the first one. Other translations understand “second” to refer to “another” section of wall (so Revised Standard Version, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Luther). This is ambiguous, implying either a “second” section or a “different” section from the last one that was referred to. Still others understand this expression to mean “the next” section of wall (so Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In this verse translators should make it clear that the two men repaired two sections: an unidentified section and the Tower of the Ovens. Translators may say “another” section and include a footnote to indicate that the Hebrew text says “second.”

The Tower of the Ovens was a place for baking bread or firing pottery. According to Neh 12.38, it was south of the Broad Wall. New Jerusalem Bible calls it “the Furnace Tower.” If the receptor culture is not familiar with Ovens or furnaces, then a description may be used instead of a name. Some translators have called this “the Tower where bread was made.”

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 .

So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places …: Nehemiah’s response to the threat by those opposed to the rebuilding of the wall was to arm the people and place them where they could be seen from outside the wall. This showed the enemy that they were armed and ready to resist. The lowest parts refers to the lowest sections of the wall where the enemy could see over the wall from the outside. The open places were where there were gaps in the wall.

I stationed the people according to their families means that Nehemiah placed or assigned the people in family groups to the locations where they would defend themselves and the city. Good News Translation makes it clear that families does not refer to the nuclear family but to the larger social group of the clan.

With their swords, their spears, and their bows: Three weapons are cited. Swords were for hand-to-hand fighting. In some languages there may be a choice of terms for different types of swords. Here the more common straight, single-edged sword should be used. Some languages will call them “great knives.” Spears were used as a stabbing weapon in close range fighting. They were not decorative spears for ceremonial or ritual use. The bows were wooden bows with a leather string that shot iron-tipped arrows made from reeds. They shot arrows over a range of about 650 meters (710 yards), but were accurate only up to about half that distance. The Hebrew text mentions bows only, but Contemporary English Version says “bows and arrows,” which is the common English expression.

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 .

And they sent … in this way and I answered them in the same manner: In Hebrew in this way and in the same manner are literally “with this word.” The narrative continues dramatically with two parallel clauses in Hebrew. Each time the invitation was repeated “with this word,” Nehemiah gave the same answer “with this word.” As in verse 2 above, the Hebrew text does not specify how the message was sent. Good News Translation, like many other versions, refers to “the same message” in the first clause. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible specifies “the same messenger” in anticipation of verse 5 that follows. Others like New Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant reflect the content of the message in their rendering “the same invitation.”

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 .

Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf: Even is an adverb that intensifies the clause that it introduces. Although the temporal marker when follows it, the main focus is not on the time when the action took place, but on the fact that the Israelites did what they did. Good News Translation therefore restructures the first two lines to emphasize how great their sin was. Translators should use an equivalent expression in their own languages, for example, “even with their casting of a calf” or “although they did something so bad as making a calf from metal.”

The greatest rebellion of the Israelites was to make for themselves a molten calf and worship it as God. The molten calf was metal that was melted and cast in the shape of a calf (see Exo 32.1-8). Good News Translation specifies that it had the form of a male calf and identifies it as an idol. The Egyptian god Apis and the Canaanite god Baal were both represented as bulls. This may be translated “they molded something that looked like a calf for themselves to worship.”

And said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt’: The speakers are the Israelites in general, just as in Exo 32.4. The Hebrew text does not specifically identify the person to whom these words were being said. However, the singular pronouns your and you refer collectively to the people of Israel. Therefore, the people are speaking to themselves. This is a quotation within a quotation and it may be difficult to translate clearly in some languages. Good News Translation has changed the direct speech to indirect speech to make the meaning clear. Bible en français courant retains the direct speech but changes the pronouns to the first person plural: “Here is our god who led us out of Egypt!” The exclamation point marks this as an emphatic announcement. In other languages the emphasis may be indicated by a special emphatic word at the end of the sentence, or by other emphatic markers.

Revised Standard Version writes God with an initial capital letter (also New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) because the Israelites took the calf to be their God. However, Good News Translation and other translations write it with an initial lower case letter as “god,” because it refers to an idol (also Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Bible en français courant). Both the Septuagint and Vulgate have “gods” as their way of signifying an idol. Some languages may have a word that is used generally for gods other than the one God and that term would be appropriate here.

Great blasphemies: The Hebrew word for blasphemies has the basic meaning of “scorn” and is used only in 2 Kgs 19.3 (Revised Standard Version “disgrace”); Neh 9.18, 26; Isa 37.3 (Revised Standard Version “disgrace”); and Ezek 35.12 (Revised Standard Version “revilings”). The Septuagint translated it as “provocations [to anger].” For the whole phrase, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible renders it “great offenses,” and Segond has “great outrages.” Good News Translation restructures the last line as an exclamation addressed to God.

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 .

In order to ensure the gathering of the produce from the areas away from Jerusalem, the Levites become tax collectors who will also benefit from what they collect. The Levites are to be accompanied by the priest, the son of Aaron when they receive the tithes. Good News Translation generalizes and makes it clear that this is not one single son of Aaron but those priests who are Aaron’s descendants. The procedure that is prescribed here for collecting the tithes may reflect the tax-collecting methods of the Persians who appointed overseers to supervise the collection of taxes.

The Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God …: A tenth of the tenth collected went directly to the priests (see Num 18.26). The presence of the priest with the Levite ensured that his portion was brought to the house of our God. Not only were these contributions to be brought to the Temple, but they were to be brought to the chambers and, even more specifically, to the storehouse. The chambers were the storage rooms where the utensils and implements of the Temple were stored according to the next verse (see Ezra 8.29). They were the storerooms of the storehouse. This can refer to a treasury where gold and silver was kept, but here it refers to a storehouse for food provisions. In the Hebrew text the prepositional phrase to the storehouse is in apposition to the prepositional phrase to the chambers. For to the chambers, to the storehouse, New International Version translates “to the storerooms of the treasury,” while New English Bible says “to the appropriate rooms in the storehouse.” Good News Translation condenses this into “to the Temple storerooms,” and this does express the meaning but loses the attention to detail shown by the author in his account.

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 .