Nehemiah 2:11-16
Legacy Standard Bible
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls
11 So I (A)came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my heart to do for Jerusalem; and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. 13 So I went out at night by (B)the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Spring and on to the [a]Dung Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem (C)which were broken down and its (D)gates which were consumed by fire. 14 Then I passed on to (E)the Spring Gate and (F)the King’s Pool, but there was no place for [b]my animal to pass. 15 So I went up at night by the (G)ravine and inspected the wall. Then I turned and entered the Valley Gate and turned around. 16 Now the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest who were doing the work.
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- Nehemiah 2:13 Lit Gate of Ash-heaps
- Nehemiah 2:14 Lit the animal under me
Nehemiah 2:11-16
New English Translation
Nehemiah Arrives in Jerusalem
11 So I came to Jerusalem. When I had been there for three days, 12 I got up during the night, along with a few men who were with me. But I did not tell anyone what my God was putting on my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me, except for the one[a] I was riding. 13 I proceeded through the Valley Gate by night, in the direction of the Well of the Dragons[b] and the Dung Gate,[c] inspecting[d] the walls of Jerusalem that had been breached and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 I passed on to the Gate of the Well and the King’s Pool, where there was not enough room for my animal to pass with me. 15 I continued up the valley during the night, inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and came to the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing, for up to this point I had not told any of the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the rest of the workers.
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- Nehemiah 2:12 tn Heb “the animal.”
- Nehemiah 2:13 tn Or “Well of the Serpents”; or “Well of the Jackals” (cf. ASV, NIV, NLT).
- Nehemiah 2:13 tn Or “Rubbish Gate” (so TEV); NASB “Refuse Gate”; NCV “Trash Gate”; CEV “Garbage Gate.”
- Nehemiah 2:13 tc For the MT reading שֹׂבֵר (sover, “inspecting”) the LXX erroneously has שֹׁבֵר (shover, “breaking”). However, further destruction of Jerusalem’s walls was obviously not a part of Nehemiah’s purpose.
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