Nehemiah 1:1-3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Nehemiah Prays for His People
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,(A) 2 one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the Jews who escaped, those who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They replied, “The remnant there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”(B)
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Nehemiah 1:1-3
New English Translation
A Prayer of Nehemiah
1 [a] These are the words of Nehemiah[b] son of Hacaliah:
It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year,[c] I was in Susa[d] the citadel. 2 Hanani, who was one of my relatives,[e] along with some of the men from Judah, came to me,[f] and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable[g] adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!”[h]
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- Nehemiah 1:1 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.
- Nehemiah 1:1 sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nekhemyah) means “the Lord comforts.”
- Nehemiah 1:1 tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).
- Nehemiah 1:1 tn Heb “Shushan.”
- Nehemiah 1:2 tn Heb “brothers.”
- Nehemiah 1:2 tn The Hebrew text does not include the words “to me”; these words were supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
- Nehemiah 1:3 tn Heb “great.”
- Nehemiah 1:3 tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.
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