¹tn Heb “the seed of Israel.”
²tn Heb “sons of a foreigner.”
³tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 16, 23, 32, 34, 36).
⁴tc Heb “Bani.” The translation reads “Binnui” rather than the MT reading “Bani.” Otherwise there are two individuals with the same name in this verse. The name “Binnui” appears, for example, in Neh 10:10.
⁵tn Heb “in a great voice.”
⁶tc The MT reads here only “from age to age,” without the preceding words “May you be blessed, O LORD our God” which are included in the translation above. But apparently something has dropped out of the text. This phrase occurs elsewhere in the OT as a description of the Lord (see Ps 41:13; 106:48), and it seems best to understand it here in that light. The LXX adds “And Ezra said” at the beginning of v. 6 as a transition: “And Ezra said, ‘You alone are the LORD.” Without this addition (which is not included by most modern English translations) the speakers of vv. 9:5b-10:1 continue to be the Levites of v. 5a.
⁷tn Heb “the name of your glory.”
⁸tn Heb “the heavens of the heavens.”
⁹tn Heb “all their host.”
¹⁰tn Heb “the.”
¹¹tn Heb “seed.”
¹²tn Heb “your words.”
¹³tn Heb “the Sea of Reeds.” Traditionally this is identified as the Red Sea, and the modern designation has been used in the translation for clarity.
¹⁴tn Heb “signs and wonders.” This phrase is a hendiadys. The second noun functions adjectivally, while the first noun retains its full nominal sense: “awesome signs” or “miraculous signs.”
¹⁵tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
¹⁶tn Heb “in the midst of.”
¹⁷tn Heb “mighty.”
¹⁸tn Heb “by the hand of.”
¹⁹tn Heb “had lifted your hand.”
²⁰tn Heb “and our fathers.” The vav is explicative.
²¹tn Heb “they stiffened their neck” (so also in the following verse).
²²tc The translation follows a few medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX in reading <yrxmB (bemisrayim, “in Egypt”) rather than the MT reading <yrmB (bemiryam, “in their rebellion”).
²³tc The translation follows the Qere reading dsj (hesed, “loyal love”) rather than the Kethib reading dsjw (wehesed, “and loyal love”) of the MT.
²⁴tn Heb “great.”
²⁵tn Heb “did not turn from them by day to guide them in the path.”
²⁶tn The words “of the land” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
²⁷tc Most Hebrew MSS read “the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon.” The translation follows the reading of one Hebrew MS, the LXX, and the Vulgate.
²⁸tn Heb “the sons.”
²⁹tn Heb “they ate and were sated.” This expression is a hendiadys. The first verb retains its full verbal sense, while the second functions adverbially: “they ate and were filled” = “they ate until they were full.”
³⁰tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”
³¹tn Heb “from the hand of.”
³²tn Heb “in the hand of.”
³³tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.
³⁴tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”
³⁵tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”
³⁶tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
³⁷tn Heb “did not give ear to.”
³⁸tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
³⁹tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.
⁴⁰tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”
⁴¹tn Heb “you have done truth.”
⁴²tn Heb “great.”
⁴³tn Heb “given them.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “given.”
⁴⁵tn The expression “to enjoy” is not included in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
⁴⁶tn Heb “according to their desire.”
⁴⁷sn Beginning with 9:38, the verse numbers through 10:39 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:38 ET = 10:1 HT, 10:1 ET = 10:2 HT, 10:2 ET = 10:3 HT, etc., through 10:39 ET = 10:40 HT. Beginning with 11:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
⁴⁸tn Heb “we are cutting.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “and writing.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “our leaders, our Levites, and our priests on the sealed document.” The Hebrew text is elliptical here; the words “have affixed their names” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons. Cf. v. 2.