^3:1Then Eliashib the high priest and his priestly colleagues¹ arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated² it and erected its doors, working as far as the Tower of the Hundred³ and⁴ the Tower of Hananel. ^3:2The men of Jericho⁵ built adjacent to it, and Zaccur son of Imri built adjacent to them.⁶

^3:3The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ^3:4Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakoz, worked on the section adjacent to them. Meshullam son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel worked on the section next to them. And Zadok son of Baana worked on the section adjacent to them. ^3:5The men of Tekoa worked on the section adjacent to them, but their town leaders⁷ would not assist⁸ with the work of their master.⁹

^3:6Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah worked on the Jeshanah Gate.¹⁰ They laid its beams and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ^3:7Adjacent to them worked Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, who were men of Gibeon and Mizpah. These towns were under the jurisdiction¹¹ of the governor of Trans-Euphrates. ^3:8Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a member of the goldsmiths’ guild, worked on the section adjacent to him. Hananiah, a member of the perfumers’ guild, worked on the section adjacent to him. They plastered¹² the city wall of Jerusalem¹³ as far as the Broad Wall. ^3:9Rephaiah son of Hur, head of a half-district of Jerusalem, worked on the section adjacent to them. ^3:10Jedaiah son of Harumaph worked on the section adjacent to them opposite¹⁴ his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah worked on the section adjacent to him. ^3:11Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab worked on another section and the Tower of the Fire Pots.

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Footnotes

1 Heb “his brothers the priests.”
2 Or “consecrated” (so , ); , “sanctified”; “gave it to the Lord’s service.”
3 The adds קִדְּשׁוּהוּ (qidshuhu, “they sanctified it”). This term is repeated from the first part of the verse, probably as an intentional scribal addition to harmonize this statement with the preceding parallel statement.
4 The translation reads וְעַד (vé’ad, “and unto”) rather than the reading עַד (ad, “unto”). The original vav (ו) was probably dropped accidentally due to haplography with the final vav on the immediately preceding word in the .
5 For the location of Jericho see ; ; ; ; ; .
6 Heb “it.”
7 Heb “their nobles.”
8 Heb “bring their neck.”
9 The plural form אֲדֹנֵיהֶם (’adonehem, “lords”) is probably a plural of majesty referring to Nehemiah (e.g., Isa 19:4; see §124.i). However, some English versions take the plural to refer to the “supervisors” (, , ) and others to “their Lord” (, ).
10 Or “the Old Gate” (cf. , , , , , ).
11 Heb “to the seat.”
12 Assuming that the reading וַיַּעַזְבוּ (vayya’azvu) is related to the root עָזַב I (“to abandon”)—which makes little sense contextually—some interpreters emend the to וַיַּעַזְרוּ (vayya’azru, “they aided”), as suggested by the editors of . However, it is better to relate this term to the root II עָזַב meaning “to restore; to repair” ( 738 II עָזַב) or “to plaster” ( II עזב qal.1). This homonymic root is rare, appearing elsewhere only in Exod 23:5 and Job 9:27, where it means “to restore; to put in order” ( II עזב qal.2). The related Mishnaic Hebrew noun מעזיבה refers to a “plastered floor.” This Hebrew root is probably related to the cognate Ugaritic, Old South Arabic and Sabean verbs that mean “to restore” and “to prepare; to lay” (see 738 ; ). Some scholars in the nineteenth century suggested that this term be nuanced “paved.” However, most modern English versions have “restored” (so , , , ) or “rebuilt” (so , ).
13 Heb “[the city wall of] Jerusalem.” The term “Jerusalem” probably functions as a metonymy of association for the city wall of Jerusalem. Accordingly, the phrase “the city wall of” has been supplied in the translation to clarify this figurative expression. For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
14 The translation reads נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) with a few medieval Hebrew , some of the , the , and the , rather than וְנֶגֶד (véneged, “and before”) of the .