NEH 1:6 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not necessarily natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for Bible-translators and others doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still early looks into the drafted texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

1:6 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX (EZR 11:6) Ἔστω δὴ τὸ οὖς σου προσέχον, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ἀνεῳγμένοι, τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι προσευχὴν τοῦ δούλου σου, ἣν ἐγὼ προσεύχομαι ἐνώπιόν σου σήμερον ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα περὶ υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ δούλων σου· καὶ ἐξαγορεύω ἐπὶ ἁμαρτίαις υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ αἷς ἡμάρτομέν σοι· καὶ ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ οἶκος πατρός μου ἡμάρτομεν.
(Estō daʸ to ous sou proseⱪon, kai hoi ofthalmoi sou aneōigmenoi, tou akousai proseuⱪaʸn tou doulou sou, haʸn egō proseuⱪomai enōpion sou saʸmeron haʸmeran kai nukta peri huiōn Israaʸl doulōn sou; kai exagoreuō epi hamartiais huiōn Israaʸl hais haʸmartomen soi; kai egō kai ho oikos patros mou haʸmartomen.)

BrTr let now thine ear be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, this day both day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and make confession for the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and the house of my father have sinned.

ULT Please let your ear be attentive and your eyes opened to listen to the prayer of your servant that I am praying before your face today, day and night, on account of the sons of Israel, your servants. And I am confessing on account of the sins of the sons of Israel that we have sinned against you. Even I and the house of my father, we have sinned.

UST Now please pay careful attention and listen to my prayer that I am praying to you now, as I have been constantly, for the people of Israel, your chosen people. I must confess the sins that we, the people of Israel, have committed against you. Both I and my family have also sinned.

BSB & MSB let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites.
¶ I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against You. Both I and my father ’s house have sinned.

OEB No OEB NEH 1:6 book available

WEBBE & WMBB let your ear now be attentive and your eyes open, that you may listen to the prayer of your servant which I pray before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned.

MSG ^(5-6)I said, “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.

NET may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed against you – both I myself and my family have sinned.

LSV please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, to listen to the prayer of Your servant, that I am praying before You today, by day and by night, concerning the sons of Israel, Your servants, and confessing concerning the sins of the sons of Israel, that we have sinned against You; indeed, I and the house of my father have sinned;

FBV please listen and focus your attention on the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you now, day and night, on behalf of your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against you, including my own sins and those of my family.

T4T Now please look down and listen to what I am praying. I pray during the day and at night for your Israeli people. I confess that we Israeli people have sinned. Even my family and I have sinned against you.

LEB Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the _⌊Israelites_⌋,[fn] and confessing the sins of the _⌊Israelites_⌋[fn] that we have sinned against you. I and my father’s house have sinned.

1:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

BBE Let your ear now take note and let your eyes be open, so that you may give ear to the prayer of your servant, which I make before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel, your servants, while I put before you the sins of the children of Israel, which we have done against you: truly, I and my father's people are sinners.

Moff may thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open to listen to the prayer of thy servant, which I offer before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, confessing the sins which the children of Israel have committed against thee. We have sinned, I and my father’s house.

JPS let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee; yea, I and my father's house have sinned.

ASV let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father’s house have sinned:

DRA Let thy ears be attentive, and thy eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, night and day, for the children of Israel thy servants: and I confess the sins of the children of Israel, by which they have sinned against thee: I and my father’s house 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;

Drby Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, confessing the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

RV Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: yea, I and my father’s house have sinned.
(Let thine/your ear now be attentive, and thine/your eyes open, that thou/you mayest/may hearken unto the prayer of thy/your servant, which I pray before thee/you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy/your servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee/you: yea, I and my father’s house have sinned.)

SLT Will now thine ear be attentive and thine eye opened to hear to the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee this day, day and night, for the sons of Israel thy servants, and confess for the sins of the sons of Israel which we sinned against thee? and and the house of my father sinned.

Wbstr Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

KJB-1769 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.
(Let thine/your ear now be attentive, and thine/your eyes open, that thou/you mayest/may hear the prayer of thy/your servant, which I pray before thee/you now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy/your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee/you: both I and my father’s house have sinned.)

KJB-1611 Let thine eare now be attentiue, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy seruants, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which wee haue sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house haue sinned.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Let thyne eares hearken I beseche thee, and let thyne eyes be open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruaunt, whiche I pray nowe before thee day and night for the children of Israel thy seruauntes, and knowledge the sinnes of the children of Israel which we haue sinned against thee: I and my fathers house haue sinned,
(Let thine/your ears hearken I beseech/implore thee/you, and let thine/your eyes be open, that thou/you mayest/may hear the prayer of thy/your servant, which I pray now before thee/you day and night for the children of Israel thy/your servants, and knowledge the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee/you: I and my fathers house have sinned,)

Gnva I pray thee, let thine eares be attet, and thine eies open, to heare the praier of thy seruat, which I pray before thee dayly, day and night for ye childre of Israel thy seruats, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which we haue sinned against thee, both I and my fathers house haue sinned:
(I pray thee/you, let thine/your ears be attentive, and thine/your eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy/your servant, which I pray before thee/you daily, day and night for ye/you_all children of Israel thy/your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee/you, both I and my fathers house have sinned:)

Cvdl let yi eares marke, & let thine eies be open, yt thou mayest heare the prayer of yi seruaunt, which I praye now before ye daye and nighte for the children of Israel thy seruauntes, & knowlege the synnes of the children of Israel, which we haue commytted agaynst the. And I & my fathers house haue synned also.
(let ye/you_all ears mark, and let thine/your eyes be open, it thou/you mayest/may hear the prayer of ye/you_all servant, which I pray now before ye/you_all day and night for the children of Israel thy/your servants, and knowledge the sins of the children of Israel, which we have committed against them. And I and my fathers house have sinned also.)

Wycl thin eere be maad herknynge, and thin iyen openyd, that thou here the preier of thi seruaunt, bi which Y preie bifor thee `to dai, bi nyyt and dai, for the sones of Israel, thi seruauntis, and `Y knouleche for the synnes of the sones of Israel, bi which thei han synned to thee; bothe Y and the hows of my fadir han synned; we weren disseyued bi vanyte,
(thin ear be made hearkening, and thin eyes opened, that thou/you here the prayer of thy/your servant, by which I pray before thee/you today, by night and day, for the sons of Israel, thy/your servants, and I knowledge for the sins of the sons of Israel, by which they have sinned to thee/you; both I and the house of my father have sinned; we were deceived by vanity,)

Luth laß doch deine Ohren aufmerken und deine Augen offen sein, daß du hörest das Gebet deines Knechts, das ich nun vor dir bete Tag und Nacht für die Kinder Israel, deine Knechte, und bekenne die Sünden der Kinder Israel, die wir an dir getan haben; und ich und meines Vaters Haus haben auch gesündiget.
(let though/but your ears pay_attention and your eyes open/plainly be, that you(sg) hear/listen the prayer your(s) servant/farmhands, the I now before/in_front_of you/to_you(sg) pray day and night for/in_favour_of the children Israel, your servant(s), and confess the sins(n) the/of_the children Israel, the we/us at/to you/to_you(sg) did have; and I and my father house have also sinned.)

ClVg fiant aures tuæ auscultantes, et oculi tui aperti, ut audias orationem servi tui, quam ego oro coram te hodie nocte et die pro filiis Israël servis tuis: et confiteor pro peccatis filiorum Israël, quibus peccaverunt tibi: ego et domus patris mei peccavimus,
(be_done ears yours listening, and eyes yours(sg) open, as hear speech slaves yours(sg), how I I_pray before you(sg) today/at_this_time at_night and day for to_the_children Israel slaves yours: and I_confess for sins of_children Israel, to_whom they_sinned to_you: I and home of_the_father my/mine we_have_sinned,)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

תְּהִ֣י נָ֣א אָזְנְ⁠ךָֽ־קַשֶּׁ֣בֶת וְֽ⁠עֵינֶ֪י⁠ךָ פְתֻוּח֟וֹת

(Some words not found in UHB: be now ear_of,your attentive and,eyes_of,your open to,listen to/towards prayer_of your_servant_of,your which/who I praying to=your=face the=day day and,night on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in sons_of Yisrael your=servants and,[I_am]_confessing on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in sins_of sons_of Yisrael which/who sinned to/for=you(fs) and,I and,the_house_of my_father_of,my sinned )

These two phrases mean similar things. Nehemiah says the same thing twice, in slightly different ways, to urge God to pay attention to him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases. Alternate translation: [pay attention to me,] otherwise “please listen to me and look at me.”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

אָזְנְ⁠ךָֽ־קַשֶּׁ֣בֶת

ear_of,your (Some words not found in UHB: be now ear_of,your attentive and,eyes_of,your open to,listen to/towards prayer_of your_servant_of,your which/who I praying to=your=face the=day day and,night on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in sons_of Yisrael your=servants and,[I_am]_confessing on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in sins_of sons_of Yisrael which/who sinned to/for=you(fs) and,I and,the_house_of my_father_of,my sinned )

This request for God’s ear to be attentive refers to the action of listening. In this context, Nehemiah is asking God to listen to his prayer, with the intention that God would do something about the bad situation in Jerusalem.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

וְֽ⁠עֵינֶ֪י⁠ךָ פְתֻוּח֟וֹת

and,eyes_of,your open

This request for God’s eyes to be open refers to the action of seeing. Seeing is a metaphor meaning knowledge, perception, notice, attention, or judgment. In this case, Nehemiah is asking God to pay attention both to him and to the problem in Jerusalem.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

תְּפִלַּ֣ת עַבְדְּ⁠ךָ֡

Nehemiah uses the word servant to refer to himself. This is how a person would address a superior in order to show humility and respect. Alternate translation: [my prayer]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

מִתְפַּלֵּ֨ל לְ⁠פָנֶ֤י⁠ךָ

Here face is a metonym for the action of seeing, which is figurative way of referring to a person’s notice or attention to something. Nehemiah is repeating the fact that he is praying in order to bring these matters to God’s notice or attention. Alternate translation: [praying to you]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

הַ⁠יּוֹם֙

the=day

This does not necessarily mean on this particular day, but at this time. Alternate translation: [right now]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / merism

הַ⁠יּוֹם֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָ⁠לַ֔יְלָה

the=day day and,night

When Nehemiah says that he has prayed both during the day and during the night, he means that he has also prayed at all times in between, that is, constantly. However, he does not mean that he has prayed non-stop all day long and all night long, without doing any other activities such as sleeping or eating. Alternate translation: [constantly,] otherwise “during the day and at night”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל

Here sons means descendants. Alternate translation: [on behalf of the people of Israel]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

עֲבָדֶ֑י⁠ךָ

your=servants

In this context, the word servants refers to the special role that the people of Israel had in the world as a model community of God’s followers. Alternate translation: [your chosen people]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

וּ⁠מִתְוַדֶּ֗ה עַל־חַטֹּ֤אות בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֣אנוּ לָ֔⁠ךְ

Here again sons means descendants and the phrase refers to the people of Israel. Alternate translation: [I must confess the sins that we, the people of Israel, have committed against you]

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

וַ⁠אֲנִ֥י וּ⁠בֵית־אָבִ֖⁠י חָטָֽאנוּ

and,I and,the_house_of my_father_of,my sinned

Among the Israelites, the expression father’s house or house of the father originally described an extended-family group who lived together. It later came to be used more generally to refer to a larger clan within a tribe. In this expression, the word house describes all the people descended from a particular person. The term views all of those descendants as if they were one household living together. However, since Nehemiah is stressing his sense of personal responsibility here and identifying closely with the people in this group, he may be using the term in its original sense to refer to his nearest relatives. Alternate translation: [Both I and my family have also sinned]

BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:

Poster Map of Jerusalem during the Time of Nehemiah, circa 445 B.C.

Author’s Note: This map draws heavily upon the careful work of Dr. Leen Ritmeyer (www.ritmeyer.com) regarding the probable location of gates, walls, and other features, though I have deviated at points from his data, based on my own research and conclusions.

A wealth of archaeological evidence supports the existence and location of many of the structures shown on this map, and great care has been taken to correlate them as faithfully as possible with the data provided in the book of Nehemiah and other biblical texts. Nevertheless, the specific identification of virtually all of these items is open to great debate. For this reason, no attempt has been made on this map to indicate any degree of uncertainty for the identifications that have been included, since the vast majority of these would be marked as uncertain anyway.

The shaded relief has been overlaid with the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem (1865), by Charles Wilson.

The book of Nehemiah is one of the last books of the Old Testament written, and it recounts the efforts of Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem long after they had been destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Jeremiah 39:1-10; see “Nebuchadnezzar’s Final Campaign against Judah” map). Nehemiah had been a trusted official in the Persian royal court who acquired a special commission to return to his ancestral land of Judea for the rebuilding effort (Nehemiah 1-2; see “Jews Return from Exile” map). After arriving in Jerusalem, he quickly surveyed the condition of the walls and then organized the people of Judea into work teams (Nehemiah 2-3). These teams each worked on a designated portion of the walls, and the entire project was completed in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). The builders came from Jerusalem and from towns throughout the greater province of Judea, and most of these towns are included in the map of “Judea under Persian Rule”.

It is far beyond the scope of this article to present all the textual and archaeological evidence that forms the basis for the identifications made on this map, but two specific portions of this map seem to warrant explanation:

One Gate of Ephraim or Two?

The Gate of Ephraim is mentioned in Nehemiah 8:16 and 12:39, and it is noted as lying along the path of the walls that Nehemiah rebuilt. This has indirectly led to some confusion, however, regarding the location of another gate called the Gate of Ephraim in 2 Kings 14:13 and 2 Chronicles 25:23, which both note that King Jehoash of Israel broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, a distance of 400 cubits. This confusion stems from equating the Gate of Ephraim mentioned in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles with the Gate of Ephraim mentioned in Nehemiah. Assuming the biblical text to be reliable, this assumption would require that the Corner Gate, which is mentioned also in 2 Chronicles 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; and Zechariah 14:10, would have been located somewhere along the wall about 600 feet (183 meters) from the Gate of Ephraim. Placing it directly west of the Gate of Ephraim of Nehemiah would place it very close to the Middle Gate, perhaps suggesting that the Middle Gate was in fact the Corner Gate. But Jeremiah’s mention of both the Middle Gate (39:3) and the Corner Gate (Jeremiah 31:38) in the same book makes this equation unlikely. Placing the Corner Gate directly north of the Gate of Ephraim near the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount seems plausible at first glance, but this location is very hard to reconcile with both Jeremiah 31:38 and Zechariah 14:10. Jeremiah 31:38 traces a line from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate, but this would make little sense if the Corner Gate were located in very close proximity to the Tower of Hananel. Similarly, Zechariah 14:10 appears to be using the Corner Gate as a marker for the far western extreme of Jerusalem, but a location at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount hardly seems like the intended location.

A more likely solution can be found by regarding the Gate of Ephraim of 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25 as different than the Gate of Ephraim of Nehemiah, though perhaps the Gate of Ephraim had been renamed after the exile to hearken back to the old Gate of Ephraim, which had been destroyed. If this is true, the earlier Gate of Ephraim may actually have been the same as the Middle Gate of Jeremiah 39:3 (Jeremiah never mentions the Gate of Ephraim), or perhaps it was a gate near where the Middle Gate was built later. This location, then, would place the Corner Gate at the far western corner of the larger wall around greater Jerusalem, as shown on this map. The distance between these two gates is about 600 feet (183 meters), and the appropriately named Corner Gate would be a fitting candidate to mark the far western extreme of the city.

It should also be noted that this solution, however, requires that the first Gate of Ephraim existed prior to Hezekiah’s building activity. This stands in contrast to the common assertion that the wall encompassing greater Jerusalem (which Josephus calls the First Wall) was built by Hezekiah in response to the dramatic increase in residents that relocated to Jerusalem due to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. But the only mention in the Bible of Hezekiah building a new wall is 2 Chronicles 32:5, which notes that he built a wall “outside” the wall that was broken down (2 Chronicles 32:5). This is most likely referencing a wall in the Kidron Valley that has since been found by archaeology, and perhaps a second wall around the Temple Mount. So it would seem that elsewhere Hezekiah merely repaired or replaced portions of a wall that already existed but was in disrepair. This synchronizes well with Isaiah 22:11, where Isaiah rebukes a leader (perhaps Hezekiah) for breaking down houses “to fortify the wall” (not build a new one).

Wall Enclosing the King’s Pool

Another common assumption that is difficult to correlate with Nehemiah is the placement of the King’s Pool and the Lower Pool outside the main wall of the City of David. (The King’s Pool was likely the same as the Old Pool mentioned in Isaiah 22:11. The Lower Pool appears to be alternately called elsewhere the [Pool of] Shiloah/Siloam [Isaiah 8:6] and the Pool of Shelah [Nehemiah 3:15], which is fed by the Dragon’s Spring [Nehemiah 2:13].) Two different passages in Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:13; 12:31) clearly trace a path along a wall from the Valley Gate (likely midway up the western wall of the City of David) directly to the Dung Gate, with no mention of any other gates or distinct changes in direction. Likewise, both Nehemiah 3:15 and 12:37 note that the Fountain Gate (likely located immediately northeast of the King’s Pool on this map) was reached after passing by the Dung Gate. This author has become convinced that this requires that the Dung Gate lay along a portion of the wall that must have extended directly from the area of the Valley Gate. Further details are given in Nehemiah 3:13, which notes that Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired 1000 cubits (1500 feet; 457 meters) of the wall from the Valley Gate to the Dung Gate. If the Valley Gate and the Dung Gate were indeed located at the two places shown on this map, and a wall between them followed the path shown here, the distance between them along the wall would have measured about 1548 feet (472 meters), or 1032 cubits–extremely close to the 1000-cubit distance given in Nehemiah 3:13. The existence of this wall is also supported by Isaiah 22:11-12, which notes that a reservoir for the waters of the Old Pool (likely the same as the King’s Pool on this map) had been built “between the two walls.” This could be understood to refer to Josephus’s First Wall and the wall immediately north of the King’s Pool, but this author suspects instead that it is referring to the wall that must have already existed immediately south of the Lower Pool and the King’s Pool on this map.

Parallel NEH 1:6

Poster Map of Jerusalem during the Time of Nehemiah, circa 445 B.C.