Rebuilding the Walls

3 The high priest Eliashib^(A) and his fellow priests began rebuilding the Sheep Gate.^(B) They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel,^(C) they dedicated it. ² The men of Jericho^(D) built next to Eliashib,^(E) and next to them Zaccur son of Imri built.

Fish Gate

³ The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate.^(F) They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.^{(G) 4} Next to them Meremoth^(H) son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Beside them Meshullam^(I) son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. ⁵ Beside them the Tekoites^(J) made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help^[a] their supervisors.

Old Gate, Broad Wall, and Tower of the Ovens

⁶ Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old^[b] Gate.^(K) They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. ⁷ Next to them the repairs were done by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon^(L) and Mizpah, who were under the authority^[c](M) of the governor^(N) of the region west of the Euphrates River.^{(O) 8} After him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, the goldsmith,^(P) made repairs, and next to him Hananiah son of the perfumer made repairs. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.^(Q)

⁹ Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ After them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house.^(R) Next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. ¹¹ Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab made repairs to another section, as well as to the Tower of the Ovens.^{(S) 12} Beside him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs—he and his daughters.

Valley Gate, Dung Gate, and Fountain Gate

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired five hundred yards^[d] of the wall to the Dung Gate.^{(T) 14} Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem,^(U) repaired the Dung Gate.^(V) He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹⁵ Shallun^[e] son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate.^(W) He rebuilt it and roofed it. Then he installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also made repairs to the wall of the Pool of Shelah^(X) near the king’s garden,^(Y) as far as the stairs that descend from the city of David.^(Z)

¹⁶ After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur,^(AA) made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David,^(AB) as far as the artificial pool^(AC) and the House of the Warriors.^{(AD) 17} Next to him the Levites^(AE) made repairs under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah,^(AF) made repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their fellow Levites made repairs under Binnui^[f] son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, made repairs to another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle.^(AG)

The Angle, Water Gate, and Tower on Ophel

²⁰ After him Baruch son of Zabbai^[g] diligently repaired another section, from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib.^{(AH) 21} Beside him Meremoth^(AI) son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs to another section, from the door of Eliashib’s^(AJ) house to the end of his house. ²² And next to him the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.

²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. Beside them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui^(AK) son of Henadad made repairs to another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and the corner. ²⁵ Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the Angle and tower that juts out from the king’s upper palace,^[h](AL) by the courtyard of the guard.^(AM) Beside him Pedaiah son of Parosh ²⁶ and the temple servants^(AN) living on Ophel^(AO) made repairs opposite the Water Gate^(AP) toward the east and the tower that juts out. ²⁷ Next to him the Tekoites^(AQ) made repairs to another section from a point opposite the great tower that juts out, as far as the wall of Ophel.^(AR)

Horse Gate, Inspection Gate, and Sheep Gate

²⁸ Each of the priests made repairs above the Horse Gate,^(AS) each opposite his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. And beside him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, guard of the East Gate, made repairs. ³⁰ Next to him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph made repairs to another section.

After them Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his room. ³¹ Next to him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths,^(AT) made repairs to the house of the temple servants^(AU) and the merchants, opposite the Inspection^[i] Gate, and as far as the upstairs room on the corner. ³² The goldsmiths^(AV) and merchants made repairs between the upstairs room on the corner and the Sheep Gate.^(AW)

Progress in Spite of Opposition

4 When Sanballat^(AX) heard that we were rebuilding the wall,^(AY) he became furious. He mocked the Jews^{(AZ) 2} before his colleagues and the powerful men^[j] of Samaria^(BA) and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones^(BB) back to life from the mounds of rubble?” ^{(BC) 3} Then Tobiah the Ammonite,^(BD) who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox^(BE) climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!”

⁴ Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered^[k] the builders.^(BF)

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.^(BG)

⁷ When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs,^(BH) Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed,^(BI) they became furious.^{(BJ) 8} They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion. ⁹ So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night.

¹⁰ In Judah, it was said:^[l]

¹¹ And our enemies said, “They won’t realize it^[m] until we’re among them and can kill them and stop the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again,^[n] “Everywhere you turn, they attack^[o] us.” ¹³ So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,^(BK) “Don’t be afraid of them.^(BL) Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”^(BM)

Sword and Trowel

¹⁵ When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall. ¹⁶ From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor.^(BN) The officers supported all the people of Judah, ¹⁷ who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. ¹⁸ Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the one who sounded the ram’s horn was beside me. ¹⁹ Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,^(BO) “The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall.^{(BP) 20} Wherever you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!” ^{(BQ) 21} So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out. ²² At that time, I also said to the people, “Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.” ²³ And I, my brothers, my servants, and the men of the guard with me never took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing.^[p]

Growth and Persecution in Iconium

14 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.^{(A) 2} But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.^{(B) 3} So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders.^{(C) 4} But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles.^{(D) 5} When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them, ⁶ they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside.^{(E) 7} There they continued preaching the gospel.^(F)

Mistaken for Gods in Lystra

⁸ In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. ⁹ He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around.^(G)

¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ^{(H) 12} Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴ The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting,^{(I) 15} “People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things^(J) to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.^{[a](K) 16} In past generations he allowed all the nations^(L) to go their own way, ¹⁷ although he did not leave himself without a witness,^(M) since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons^(N) and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.^{(O) 20} After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.^(P)

Church Planting

²¹ After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,^{(Q) 22} strengthening the^[b] disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith^(R) and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships^(S) to enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ When they had appointed elders^(T) for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴ They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.^{(U) 27} After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them^(V) and that he had opened the door^(W) of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.