1tn The words “were the following names” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. vv. 9, 10, 14.
2tc With many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient versions the translation reads יְשׁוּעַ (y˙shua’, “Jeshua”) rather than the reading וְיֵשׁוּעַ(v˙yeshua’, “and Jeshua”) of BHS.
3tnHeb “brothers” (also in v. 30).
4tnHeb “heads”; ASV “chiefs.”
5tnHeb “from the peoples of the lands.” Cf. vv. 30, 31.
6tnHeb “the nobles.”
7tn The expression “a curse and an oath” may be a hendiadys, meaning “an oath with penalties.”
8tnHeb “to walk in.”
9tnHeb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.
10tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
11tnHeb “take.”
12tnHeb “debt of every hand,” an idiom referring to the hand that holds legally binding contractual agreements.
13tnHeb “cause to stand on us.”
14tc The MT reads “to give upon us.” However, the term עָלֵינוּ (’alenu, “upon us”) should probably be deleted, following a few medieval Hebrew MSS, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate.