Nehemiah 3

³⁹over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

³⁸“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.

¹⁰All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.

²⁸Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.

³²And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

³⁶the men of Jericho, 345;

³⁴the men of Jericho, 345;

¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹⁴After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of Ophel and heightened it considerably. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

³⁹over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

⁸And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

¹⁰On that day,” declares the Lord, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.

⁶The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the doors in the gates—

³³On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.

²¹Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the doorway of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house.

¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

²⁷And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.

²So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.

⁸On that day, declares the Lord of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.

⁹Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹²And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!

²⁶Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.

⁸As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation by sword and famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I have destroyed it by his hand.

³⁹over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

²At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)

⁶Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials he built up Geba and Mizpah.

⁷I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.

⁸And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

¹⁹And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory, near the angle in the wall.

³But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

⁴acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

³⁸The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

³¹Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner.

³²And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

¹As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

²And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him,

²⁵Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.

⁶They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

¹²And next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs, with the help of his daughters.

¹⁷Next to him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of a half-district of Keilah, made repairs for his district.

⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

²³Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

²⁸Above the Horse Gate, each of the priests made repairs in front of his own house.

²⁹Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

³⁸The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

⁶the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,812;

⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁴from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;

¹⁴And the leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

¹¹the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;

⁹Next to them, Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs;

³Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have contended at my side for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

²⁵Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun: blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen.

⁸Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.

⁹He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

¹⁴The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹⁵The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.

¹³So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.

³⁴Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam,

⁹Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.

¹⁸These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah. Mered also took a Judean wife, who gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.

⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,

³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; and in Azekah and its villages. So they settled from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.

¹“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.

¹³So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.

¹⁵The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.

¹⁶Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Mighty.

¹²And next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs, with the help of his daughters.

¹³The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it, installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.

⁹Next to them, Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs;

³¹Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. One was to proceed along the top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate.

⁷Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.

⁶“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

¹⁴Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;

⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?

¹Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the Lord at Mizpah.

⁹Next to them, Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs;

¹²And next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs, with the help of his daughters.

²⁰As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

²⁹Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

¹⁴The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹¹You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.

⁴⁴Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—nine cities, along with their villages.

⁴“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the Lord, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,

¹Now it was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and looting the threshing floors.”

²So David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

¹⁶Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Mighty.

⁹Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.

⁹The Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his associates, led the songs of thanksgiving.

¹At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.

¹⁰Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹¹Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

²⁸Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.

²²In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, during the reign of Darius the Persian, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded.

²³As for the descendants of Levi, the family heads up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles.

⁴Now before this, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God

⁶¹And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

⁶³And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

²⁸The singers were also assembled from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,

²Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me.

¹⁰next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house; and next to him, Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

²Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

²⁹Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

³⁰Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, as well as Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his own quarters.

⁴Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for this occasion. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and at his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

⁷The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.

¹⁹And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory, near the angle in the wall.

¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.

⁹The Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

²⁷And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.

²At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah.

²¹So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

³⁹over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

¹While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:

³the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

⁸The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

²¹The temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel, with Ziha and Gishpa over them.

¹At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.

³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

³So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

¹⁴After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of Ophel and heightened it considerably. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

³Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord, and he worked extensively on the wall at the hill of Ophel.

⁵Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

¹⁵So they seized Athaliah as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.

⁴⁰The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the Lord. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

¹⁶So they seized Athaliah as she reached the horses’ entrance to the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.

²³Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

¹⁰next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house; and next to him, Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

²and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you,

⁴⁰the descendants of Immer, 1,052;

³⁷the descendants of Immer, 1,052;

²Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel.

⁸Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

³²And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

¹At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.

³⁹over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.

³¹Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner.

⁸Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.