Reaffirm Your Love

2 But I decided this ^[a]for my own sake, that I ^(A)would not come to you in sorrow again. ² For if I ^(B)cause you sorrow, who then will be the one making me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? ³ This is the very thing I ^(C)wrote you, so that ^(D)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having ^(E)confidence in you all that my joy was the joy of you all. ⁴ For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I ^(F)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

⁵ But ^(G)if anyone has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not for me, but in some degree—^[b]not to say too much—for all of you. ⁶ Sufficient for such a person is ^(H)this punishment which was imposed by the majority, ⁷ so that on the other hand, you should rather ^(I)forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a person might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For to this end ^(J)I also wrote, so that I might ^[c](K)put you to the test, whether you are ^(L)obedient in all things. ¹⁰ But one whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did so for your sakes ^(M)in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that no advantage would be taken of us by ^(N)Satan, for ^(O)we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹² Now when I came to ^(P)Troas for the ^(Q)gospel of Christ and when a ^(R)door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ I ^(S)had no rest for my spirit, not finding ^(T)Titus my brother; but ^(U)saying goodbye to them, I went on to ^(V)Macedonia.

^14 (W)But thanks be to God, who always ^(X)leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the ^(Y)fragrance of the ^(Z)knowledge of Him in every place. ¹⁵ For we are a ^(AA)fragrance of Christ to God among ^(AB)those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: ^16 (AC)to the one an ^[d]aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is ^(AD)adequate for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not like the many, ^[e](AE)peddling the word of God, but ^(AF)as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ ^(AG)in the sight of God.

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.

A Song of Ascents.

Builders of the Walls

3 Then ^(A)Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built ^(B)the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and ^(C)installed its doors. They consecrated ^[a]the wall to ^(D)the Tower of the Hundred and ^(E)the Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him ^(F)the men of Jericho built, and next to ^[b]them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ Now the sons of Hassenaah built ^(G)the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and installed its doors with its bolts and bars. ⁴ Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to ^[c]him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to ^[d]him Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs. ⁵ Moreover, next to ^[e]him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not ^[f]support the work of their masters.

⁶ Now Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired ^(H)the Ancient Gate; they laid its beams and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars. ⁷ Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, ^[g]also made repairs for the official seat of the ^(I)governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River. ⁸ Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the ^(J)goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ^(K)the Broad Wall. ⁹ And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^(L)the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^(M)the Tower of Furnaces. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^(N)the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(O)the Valley Gate. They built it and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a ^[h]thousand cubits of the wall to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ And Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of ^(P)Beth-haccherem repaired the ^(Q)Dung Gate. He built it and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars.

¹⁵ Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, ^(R)repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, made a roof for it, and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at ^(S)the king’s garden as far as ^(T)the steps that descend from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ^(U)official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as ^(V)the ^[i]artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ^(W)the official of Mizpah, repaired ^[j]another section in front of the ascent of the armory ^(X)at the Angle. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of ^(Y)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of ^[k]his house. ²² And after him the priests, ^(Z)the men of the ^[l]vicinity, carried out repairs. ²³ After ^[m]them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After ^[n]them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as ^(AA)the Angle and as far as the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by ^(AB)the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. ²⁶ Now ^(AC)the temple servants living in ^(AD)Ophel made repairs as far as the front of ^(AE)the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After ^[o]them ^(AF)the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(AG)the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. ²⁹ After ^[p]them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. ³¹ After him Malchijah, ^[q]one of ^(AH)the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the ^[r]Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner. ³² And between the upper room of the corner and ^(AI)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.

Work Is Ridiculed

4 ^[s]Now it came about that when ^(AJ)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. ² And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and ^(AK)the ^[t]wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the ^(AL)heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?” ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—^(AM)if a fox were to ^[u]jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

^4 (AN)Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! ^(AO)Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not ^[v](AP)forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have ^[w]demoralized the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a ^[x]mind to work.

^7 [y]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the ^[z]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went ^[aa]on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them ^(AQ)conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Discouragement Overcome

⁹ But we prayed to our God, and because of them we ^(AR)set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ And so ^[ab]in Judah it was said:

¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “^[ac]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” ¹³ then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I ^(AS)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “^(AT)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and ^(AU)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that ^(AV)God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. ¹⁶ And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon. ¹⁸ As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while ^[ad]the trumpeter stood near me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. ^(AW)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from ^[ae]dawn until the stars ^[af]appeared. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us ^[ag]removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.