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Nehemiah
Chapter One
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the
month of Chislev
in the twentieth year
as I was in Shushan[a] the
citadel
YLT Words of Nehemiah son of Hachaliah. And it
cometh to pass
in the month of Chisleu
the twentieth year
and I have been in
Shushan the palace
The words of
Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah
....
Or his transactions and
deeds; for דברי "dibre" signifies things
done
as well as words spoken; who Hachaliah his father was is not known; the
Arabic version adds
the high priest
without any foundation; though some have
thought that Nehemiah was a priest
from a passage in"Therefore whereas we
are now purposed to keep the purification of the temple upon the five and
twentieth day of the month Chisleu
we thought it necessary to certify you
thereof
that ye also might keep it
as the feast of the tabernacles
and of
the fire
which was given us when Neemias offered sacrifice
after that he had
builded the temple and the altar.' (2 Maccabees 1:18)and from
signing and sealing the covenant at the head of priests
Nehemiah 10:1
but
he rather seems to be of the tribe of Judah
see Nehemiah 2:3
and
Nehemiah may be the same that went up with Zerubbabel
and returned again
and
then became the king's cupbearer; though some are of another opinion; see Gill
on Ezra 2:2
and it came to
pass in the month Chisleu;
the ninth month
as the
Arabic version; of which see Ezra 10:9
in the twentieth
year;
not of Nehemiah's age
for
if he went up with Zerubbabel
he must be many years older; but in the
twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes
Nehemiah 1:1
as I was in
Shushan the palace;
a city in Persia
the
royal seat of the kings of it; as Ecbatana was in the summer time
this in the
spring
as Cyrus made it
according to XenophonF2Cyropaedia
l. 8.
c. 44. ; but others sayF3Athenaeus
l. 12. c. 1. it was their seat
in winter
and this was the season now when Nehemiah was with the king there;
for Chisleu was a winter month
answering to part of November and of December;
of Shushan; see Gill on Daniel 8:2
to
which may be added what a traveller of the last century saysF4Cartwright's
Preacher's Travels
p. 87
88. of it
"we rested at Valdac
once the great
city Susa
but now very ruinous; it was first built by Tythonus
and his son
Memnon
but enlarged by Darius the son of Hystaspes; in the building whereof
Memnon was so exceeding prodigal
that
as Cassiodorus writeth
he joined the
stones together with gold--such was the beauty and delectableness of it for situation
that they called it "Susa"
which in the Persian tongue signified a
"lily"
but now it is called Valdac
because of the poverty of the
place;'and it is generally supposed to have its name from the abundance of
lilies about it; but Dr. HydeF5Hist. Relig. Vet. Pers. c. 35. p.
414. gives another signification of its name
he says the Persians called it
"Sus"
which signifies "liquorice"
but for what reasons he
says not. There is a city now called Shustera
and is thought by some
travellers to be built at least very near where Shushan formerly stoodF6Tavernier
tom. 1. l. 4. c. 1. .
Nehemiah 1:2 that
Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning
the Jews who had escaped
who had survived the captivity
and concerning
Jerusalem.
YLT and come in doth Hanani
one of my brethren
he and men of Judah
and I ask them concerning the Jews
the escaped part that
have been left of the captivity
and concerning Jerusalem;
That Hanani
one of my brethren
....
Either in natural
relation
Nehemiah 7:2
or
being a Jew of the same nation and religion; so Jarchi interprets it
one of my
companions or acquaintance:
he and certain
men of Judah;
who came from thence to
Shushan on some account or another:
and I asked
them concerning the Jews that had escaped
which were left of the captivity;
who were returned from it
to their own land; he inquired of their health and prosperity
in what
circumstances they were
whether prosperous or adverse
whether they
flourished
or were in distress:
and concerning
Jerusalem;
whether it was rebuilt
the houses and walls of it
and in what condition it was.
Nehemiah 1:3 And
they said to me
“The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province
are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is
also broken down
and its gates are burned with fire.”
YLT and they say to me
`Those left
who have
been left of the captivity there in the province
[are] in great evil
and in
reproach
and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down
and its gates have been
burnt with fire.'
And they said
unto me
the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province
....
In Judea
now reduced to a
province of the Persian empire:
are in great
affliction and reproach;
harassed and distressed
calumniated and vilified
by their enemies the Samaritans:
the wall of
Jerusalem also is broken down
and the gates thereof are burnt with fire;
that is
its wall and
gates were in the same condition in which Nebuchadnezzar had left them
for
since his times as yet they had never been set up; for this is not to be
understood of what was lately done by their adversaries
which is not at all
probable.
Nehemiah 1:4 So
it was
when I heard these words
that I sat down and wept
and mourned for
many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
YLT And it cometh to pass
at my hearing these
words
I have sat down
and I weep and mourn [for] days
and I am fasting and
praying before the God of the heavens.
And it came to
pass
when I heard these words
....
This sad and melancholy
account of things:
that I sat down
and wept
and mourned certain days;
sat down upon the ground
in dust and ashes
after the manner of mourners
and wept bitterly
and mourned
in a most sorrowful manner
see Job 2:8
and fasted and
prayed before the God of heaven;
that made it
and dwells
in it.
Nehemiah 1:5 And
I said: “I pray
Lord
God of heaven
O great and awesome God
You who keep Your
covenant and mercy with those who love You[b] and
observe Your[c]
commandments
YLT And I say
`I beseech thee
O Jehovah
God of
the heavens
God
the great and the fearful
keeping the covenant and kindness
for those loving Him
and for those keeping His commands
And said
I
beseech thee
O Lord God of heaven
....
He prayed not to the host
of heaven
the sun in it
as the Persians
but to the God of it
in an humble
supplicant manner:
the great and
terrible God;
who is to be feared
and
had in reverence of all his creatures
because of his greatness and glory
being God over all
blessed for ever
and his name holy and reverend:
that keepeth
covenant and mercy for them that love him
and observe his commandments;
who keep them from a
principle of love to him; to those he has made gracious promises in his
covenant
which he truly and faithfully performs; and the consideration of
these perfections in God animates and encourages good men in prayer to him.
Nehemiah 1:6 please
let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open
that You may hear the prayer of
Your servant which I pray before You now
day and night
for the children of
Israel Your servants
and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we
have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.
YLT let Thine ear be
I pray Thee
attentive
and
Thine eyes open
to hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant
that I am praying
before Thee to-day
by day and by night
concerning the sons of Israel Thy
servants
and confessing concerning the sins of the sons of Israel
that we
have sinned against Thee; yea
I and the house of my father have sinned;
Let thine ear
be now attentive
....
To his prayer
as in Nehemiah 1:11
and thine eyes
open;
to behold with pity and
compassion the distressed case of Jerusalem
and the Jews in it:
I pray before
thee now
day and night
for the children of Israel thy servants;
this he had continued to
do ever since he heard of their trouble and calamity:
and confess the
sins of the children of Israel
which we have sinned against thee: both I and
my father's house have sinned;
he considered sin as the
cause of all this evil that had befallen his people
and confesses it with
sorrow and humiliation
and not their sins only
but his own personal and
family sins.
Nehemiah 1:7 We
have acted very corruptly against You
and have not kept the commandments
the
statutes
nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
YLT we have acted very corruptly against Thee
and have not kept the commands
and the statutes
and the judgments
that Thou
didst command Moses Thy servant.
We have dealt
very corruptly against thee
....
Corrupted his covenant
laws
and precepts
as well as themselves
ways
and works; all which were
against the Lord
contrary to his nature
mind
and will:
and have not
kept the commandments
nor the statutes
nor the judgments
which thou
commandedst thy servant Moses;
the laws
moral
ceremonial
and judicial.
Nehemiah 1:8 Remember
I pray
the word that You commanded Your servant Moses
saying
‘If you
are unfaithful
I will scatter you among the nations;[d]
YLT Remember
I pray Thee
the word that Thou
didst command Moses Thy servant
saying
Ye -- ye trespass -- I scatter you
among peoples;
Remember
I
beseech thee
the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses
....
To publish and declare to
the children of Israel
Deuteronomy 28:64
saying
if ye
transgress;
the law of God:
I will scatter
you abroad among the nations;
as now they had been among
the Assyrians
Chaldeans
Medes
and Persians.
Nehemiah 1:9 but
if you return to Me
and keep My commandments and do them
though some
of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens
yet I will
gather them from there
and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a
dwelling for My name.’[e]
YLT and ye have turned back unto Me
and kept My
commands
and done them -- if your outcast is in the end of the heavens
thence
I gather them
and have brought them in unto the place that I have chosen to
cause My name to tabernacle there.
But if ye
return unto me
and keep my commandments
and do them
...
Return by repentance
and
as a proof of the genuineness of it
yield obedience to the commands of God
and continue therein:
though there
were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven;
that is
the uttermost
parts of the earth
the most distant regions; so called
because at the extreme
parts of the horizon
according to our apprehension
the heavens and earth
touch each other; so that what is the uttermost part of the one is supposed to
be of the other:
yet will I
gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen
to set my name there;
that is to Jerusalem where
the temple was built
and his name was called upon.
Nehemiah 1:10 Now
these are Your servants and Your people
whom You have redeemed by Your
great power
and by Your strong hand.
YLT And they [are] Thy servants
and Thy people
whom Thou hast ransomed by Thy great power
and by Thy strong hand.
Now these are
thy servants
and thy people
....
Meaning those that were in
Jerusalem and Judah
gathered out of several countries
and returned to
Jerusalem:
whom thou hast
redeemed by thy great power
and by thy strong hand;
touching and moving the
heart of Cyrus to proclaim liberty to them.
Nehemiah 1:11 O Lord
I pray
please let Your ear be
attentive to the prayer of Your servant
and to the prayer of Your servants who
desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day
I pray
and
grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.
YLT I beseech Thee
O Lord
let
I pray Thee
Thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of Thy servant
and
unto the prayer of Thy servants
those delighting to fear Thy Name; and give
prosperity
I pray Thee
to Thy servant to-day
and give him for mercies before
this man;' and I have been butler to the king.
O Lord
I
beseech thee
let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant
....
To the prayer of Nehemiah
put up at this time:
and to the
prayer of thy servants
who desire to fear thy name;
the prayer of the Jews in
Judea
whose desire was to worship the Lord in his temple
according to his
will:
and prosper
I
pray thee
thy servant this day; meaning himself
who was to wait on the
king of Persia that day
and
if he had opportunity
intended to lay the case
of the Jews before him
and therefore entreats he might meet with success:
and grant him
mercy in the sight of this man;
King Artaxerxes
who was
but a man
and whose heart was in the hands of God
and he could easily move
him to pity and compassion towards his poor people the Jews:
for I was the
king's cupbearer;
in the execution of which
office he was often in the king's presence
and hoped to have an opportunity of
speaking to him in the behalf of the Jews; this with the Persians was reckoned
a very honourable officeF7Herodot. Thalia
sive
l. 3. c. 34.
Xenophon. Cyropaedia
l. 5. c. 36. . A son of Prexaspes
a very honourable man
was made cupbearer to Cambyses; and so it was with the Greeks and RomansF8Vid.
Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 10. ; and the poets not only make Ganymedes to be
Jupiter's cupbearerF9Homer. Iliad. 21. ver. 234.
but even Vulcan
himself is put into this officeF11Homer. Iliad. 1. prope finem. .
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Nehemiah 1:1 Or
Susa
b.
Nehemiah 1:5
Literally Him
c.Nehemiah 1:5
Literally His
d.
Nehemiah 1:8 Leviticus 26:33
e.
Nehemiah 1:9 Deuteronomy 30:2–5