Nehemiah 3

This edition follows the Hebrew versification; the traditional number is given in brackets.

Gate by gate, the wall goes up

1Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests set to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and hung its doors; they consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and on to the Tower of Hananel. 2Beside them the men of Jericho built, and beside them Zaccur son of Imri built. 3The Fish Gate was built by the sons of Hassenaah; they laid its beams and hung its doors, its bolts and its bars. 4Beside them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs; beside them Meshullam son of Berekiah, son of Meshezabel, made repairs; and beside them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. 5Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, though their leading men would not stoop their necks to the work of their Lord. 6The Old Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah; they laid its beams and hung its doors, its bolts and its bars. 7Beside them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite made repairs, together with the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, up to the seat of the governor of Beyond the River. 8Beside him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs, and beside him Hananiah, of the perfumers, made repairs. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9Beside them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10Beside them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs, right opposite his own house, and beside him Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired a second stretch, together with the Tower of the Ovens. 12Beside him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs — he and his daughters. 13The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the people of Zanoah. They rebuilt it and hung its doors, its bolts and its bars, and they took a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate. 14The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Rekab, ruler of the district of Beth-hakkerem. He rebuilt it and hung its doors, its bolts and its bars. 15The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Kol-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and hung its doors, its bolts and its bars. He also took the wall of the Pool of Siloam by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps that come down from the City of David. 16After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point facing the tombs of David, as far as the reservoir and the House of the Warriors. 17After him the Levites made repairs: Rehum son of Bani; beside him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs on behalf of his district. 18After him their fellow Levites made repairs: Bavvai son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19Beside him Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired a second stretch, from a point facing the ascent to the armory as far as the angle. 20After him Baruch son of Zaccai threw himself into the work and repaired a second stretch, from the angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21After him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired a second stretch, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house to the far end of it. 22After him the priests from the surrounding plain made repairs. 23After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs facing their own house; after him Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. 24After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired a second stretch, from the house of Azariah to the angle and on to the corner. 25Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the angle and the tower that juts out from the king’s upper palace, by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh, 26and the temple servants living on Ophel, made repairs as far as a point facing the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27After them the Tekoites repaired a second stretch, from a point facing the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel. 28Above the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each one in front of his own house. 29After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs facing his house, and after him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired a second stretch; after him Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs facing his own quarters. 31After him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the traders, facing the Muster Gate, and up to the upper room at the corner. 32And between that upper room and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the traders made the repairs.

Sanballat sneers

33[4:1]When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he flew into a rage, deeply offended, and he made fun of the Jews. 34[4:2]In front of his kinsmen and the army of Samaria he said, “What are these pitiful Jews up to? Are they going to be left to themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish it in a day? Will they bring stones back to life out of those heaps of rubble — stones that were burned?” 35[4:3]Tobiah the Ammonite, standing at his side, said, “That stone wall of theirs — if a fox climbed up on it, he would break it down!” 36[4:4]Hear us, our God, for we are treated with contempt. Turn their taunts back on their own heads, and hand them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 37[4:5]Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be wiped away from before you, for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders. 38[4:6]So we rebuilt the wall, and the whole of it was joined together to half its height, because the people had a heart for the work.