A List of the People Who Repaired the Wall
1Eliashib the high priest and the other priests went to work. They rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They set it apart to God. They put its doors in place. They continued to rebuild the wall up to the Tower of the Hundred. They set the tower apart to God. Then they continued to rebuild the wall all the way to the Tower of Hananel. 2Some men from Jericho rebuilt the next part of the wall. And Zakkur rebuilt the next part. He was the son of Imri.
3The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. They laid its beams. They put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars. 4Meremoth repaired the next part of the wall. He was the son of Uriah. Uriah was the son of Hakkoz. Next to Meremoth, Meshullam made some repairs. He was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Meshezabel. Next to Meshullam, Zadok also made some repairs. He was the son of Baana. 5Some men from Tekoa repaired the next part of the wall. But their nobles refused to do any work at all. They didn’t pay any attention to the people who were in charge of the work.
6Joiada and Meshullam repaired the Jeshanah Gate. Joiada was the son of Paseah. Meshullam was the son of Besodeiah. Joiada and Meshullam laid the beams of the gate. They put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars. 7Next to them, some men from Gibeon and Mizpah made repairs. They included Melatiah from Gibeon and Jadon from Meronoth. Those places were under the authority of the governor of the land west of the Euphrates River. 8Uzziel repaired the next part of the wall. He made his living by working with gold. He was the son of Harhaiah. Hananiah made repairs on the next part. He made his living by making perfume. So the wall of Jerusalem was made like new again all the way to the Broad Wall. 9Rephaiah repaired the next part. He was the son of Hur. Rephaiah ruled over half of the territory where Jerusalem was located. 10Jedaiah repaired the part of the wall that was across from his house. He was the son of Harumaph. Hattush made repairs next to Jedaiah. Hattush was the son of Hashabneiah. 11Malkijah and Hasshub repaired another part of the wall. They also repaired the Tower of the Ovens. Malkijah was the son of Harim. Hasshub was the son of Pahath-Moab. 12Shallum repaired the next part. His daughters helped him. He was the son of Hallohesh. Shallum ruled over the other half of the territory where Jerusalem was located.
13Hanun repaired the Valley Gate. Some people who lived in Zanoah helped him. They rebuilt it. They put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars. They also repaired 1,500 feet of the wall. They repaired it all the way to the Dung Gate.
14Malkijah repaired the Dung Gate. He was the son of Rekab. Malkijah ruled over the territory where Beth Hakkerem was located. He rebuilt the gate. He put in place its doors with their metal bolts and bars.
15Shallun repaired the Fountain Gate. He was the son of Kol-Hozeh. Shallun ruled over the territory where Mizpah was located. He rebuilt the gate. He put a roof over it. And he put in place the doors of the gate with their metal bolts and bars. He also repaired the wall by the Pool of Siloam. It was near the King’s Garden. Shallun repaired the wall as far as the steps that go down from the City of David. 16Next to Shallun, Nehemiah made some repairs. He was the son of Azbuk. Nehemiah ruled over half of the territory where Beth Zur was located. He repaired the wall up to the part that was across from the tombs of David. He repaired it all the way to the man-made pool and the House of the Heroes.
17Next to Nehemiah, some Levites made repairs. They worked under the direction of Rehum. He was the son of Bani. Next to Rehum, Hashabiah made repairs for his territory. He ruled over half of the territory where Keilah was located. 18Next to him, other Levites made some repairs. They worked under the direction of Binnui. He was the son of Henadad. Binnui ruled over the other half of the territory where Keilah was located. 19Next to Binnui, Ezer repaired another part of the wall. He was the son of Jeshua. Ezer ruled over Mizpah. He repaired the part across from the place that went up to the storeroom where the weapons were kept. He repaired the wall up to the angle of the wall. 20Next to Ezer, Baruch worked hard to repair another part of the wall. He was the son of Zabbai. He repaired the part from the angle of the wall to the entrance to Eliashib’s house. Eliashib was the high priest. 21Next to Baruch, Meremoth repaired another part. He was the son of Uriah. Uriah was the son of Hakkoz. Meremoth repaired the part from the entrance to Eliashib’s house to the end of the house.
22Next to Meremoth, some priests from the surrounding area made repairs. 23Next to them, Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the part of the wall that was in front of their house. Next to them, Azariah repaired the part that was beside his house. He was the son of Maaseiah. Maaseiah was the son of Ananiah. 24Next to Azariah, Binnui made repairs on another part. Binnui was the son of Henadad. Binnui repaired the wall from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner. 25Palal worked across from the angle. He was the son of Uzai. Palal also worked across from the tower that was part of the upper palace. It was near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah made some repairs. He was the son of Parosh. 26The temple servants who lived on the hill of Ophel helped Pedaiah. They repaired the wall up to the part that was across from the Water Gate. It was toward the east and the palace tower. 27Next to the temple servants, the men from Tekoa repaired another part. They made repairs from the large palace tower to the wall of Ophel.
28The priests made repairs above the Horse Gate. Each priest repaired the part of the wall that was in front of his own house. 29Next to them, Zadok made repairs across from his house. He was the son of Immer. Next to Zadok, Shemaiah made some repairs. He was the son of Shekaniah. Shemaiah guarded the East Gate. 30Next to him, Hananiah and Hanun repaired another part of the wall. Hananiah was the son of Shelemiah. Hanun was the sixth son of Zalaph. Next to Hananiah and Hanun, Meshullam made some repairs. He was the son of Berekiah. Meshullam repaired the part that was across from where he lived. 31Next to him, Malkijah made some repairs. He made his living by working with gold. He repaired the wall up to the house of the temple servants and the traders. It was across from the Inspection Gate. He also repaired the wall as far as the room above the corner. 32The traders and those who made their living by working with gold made some repairs. They repaired the wall from the room above the corner to the Sheep Gate.
Genopbygningen af muren påbegyndes
1Så gik de forskellige arbejdshold i gang. Ypperstepræsten Eljashib og de andre præster genopbyggede Fåreporten, satte portfløjene på plads og indviede den. Desuden reparerede de muren hen til Meatårnet, som de indviede, og videre til Hananeltårnet. 2Ved siden af dem arbejdede et hold fra Jeriko, og ved siden af dem igen et hold under ledelse af Zakkur, en søn af Imri.
3Fiskeporten blev bygget af Sena’as sønner. Rammen blev konstrueret af store bjælker, som portfløjene blev sat fast i. Desuden lavede de bolte og tværstænger. 4Ved siden af dem var der et arbejdshold under ledelse af Meremot, en søn af Urija, som var søn af Hakkotz. Næste hold blev ledt af Meshullam, en søn af Berekja, som var søn af Meshezabel, og det næste igen var under ledelse af Zadok, en søn af Ba’ana. 5Dernæst fulgte folkene fra byen Tekoa, som måtte gøre arbejdet uden deres ledere, for de havde nægtet at tage del i byggeriet.
6Den Gamle Port blev repareret af Jojada, en søn af Pasea, og Meshullam, en søn af Besodeja. De konstruerede en ramme af bjælker, satte portfløjene i rammen og sikrede porten med bolte og tværstænger. 7Ved siden af dem arbejdede Melatja fra Gibeon og Jadon fra Meronot som ledere af et arbejdshold fra byerne Gibeon og Mitzpa, frem til det hus, som blev brugt af guvernøren vest for Eufratfloden. 8Næste hold var under ledelse af guldsmeden Uzziel, en søn af Harhaja. Derfra og hen til hvor det brede stykke af muren begynder, arbejdede et hold under ledelse af Hananja, en af salveblanderne.
9Den næste sektion blev bygget af et hold under ledelse af Refaja, en søn af Hur. Han var leder for den ene halvdel af Jerusalems distrikt. 10Jedaja, søn af Harumaf, genopbyggede det stykke af muren, der lå ud for hans eget hus. Ved siden af ham arbejdede Hattush, en søn af Hashabneja. 11Dernæst var der Malkija, en søn af Harim, og Hasshub, en søn af Pahat-Moab. De arbejdede på stykket til og med Ovntårnet. 12Shallum, en søn af Hallohesh, arbejdede på det næste stykke sammen med sine døtre. Han var leder for den anden halvdel af Jerusalems distrikt.
13Folkene fra Zanoa genopbyggede Dalporten under ledelse af Hanun. De konstruerede en ramme af bjælker, satte portfløjene i rammen og sikrede porten med bolte og tværstænger. De reparerede også 450 m af muren helt hen til Møgporten.
14Møgporten tog Malkija, en søn af Rekab, sig af. Han var leder for Bet-Kerem distriktet. Han genopbyggede porten og satte portfløjene i med deres bolte og tværstænger.
15Shallun, en søn af Kol-Hoze, der var leder for Mitzpa distriktet, genopbyggede Kildeporten, lavede taget over den og satte portfløjene på plads med deres bolte og tværstænger. Derefter reparerede han muren fra Shela-dammen til paladsets have og trappen, der fører op til Davidsbyen. 16Ved siden af ham arbejdede Nehemias, en søn af Azbuk, der var leder for halvdelen af Bet-Zur distriktet. Han genopbyggede muren hen til Davids gravsted, den kunstigt anlagte dam og heltenes hus. 17Derefter fulgte et arbejdshold af levitter under ledelse af Rehum, en søn af Bani. Efter dem arbejdede Hashabja, der var leder for den ene halvdel af Keila distriktet. Han havde ansvar for genopbygningen af sit eget område. 18Derefter kom Binnuj, en søn af Henadad, der var leder for den anden halvdel af Keila distriktet, sammen med sine folk.
19Det næste arbejdshold var under ledelse af Ezer, en søn af Jeshua, der var leder for selve byen Mitzpa. De arbejdede også på strækningen over for våbenarsenalet, hvor muren drejer skarpt, så der dannes et hjørne. 20Så fulgte Baruk, en søn af Zabbaj, der byggede fra hjørnet til ypperstepræsten Eljashibs hus. 21Meremot, en søn af Urija, der var søn af Hakkotz, byggede det stykke af muren, der gik fra indgangen til Eljashibs hus og hen til enden af det. 22Præsterne fra Jerusalems opland byggede den næste strækning. 23Binjamin, Hasshub og Azarja, en søn af Ma’aseja, der var søn af Ananja, reparerede stykket ud for deres egne huse. 24Binnuj, en søn af Henadad, byggede stykket fra Azarjas hus til hjørnet, 25-26hvorfra Palal, en søn af Uzaj, fortsatte til fundamentet under paladsets øvre tårn ved vagthusene. Derefter fulgte Pedaja, en søn af Parosh, som sammen med tempeltjenerne fra Ofelhøjen byggede i østlig retning til Vandporten og tårnet, hvorfra tempelområdet blev overvåget. 27Den næste strækning fra tårnet, hvorfra templet blev overvåget og hele vejen langs Ofelhøjen, blev bygget af endnu et arbejdshold fra Tekoa. 28En gruppe præster byggede strækningen over for deres huse på den anden side af Hesteporten.
29Zadok, en søn af Immer, genopbyggede også muren ud for sit eget hus, og efter ham fulgte Shemaja, en søn af Shekanja, der til daglig stod vagt ved østporten. 30Så fulgte Hananja, en søn af Shelemja; Hanun, den sjette søn af Zalaf; Meshullam, en søn af Berekja, der byggede stykket ud for sit eget hus. 31Guldsmeden Malkija byggede muren helt hen til huset over for Mønstringsporten, som blev brugt af tempeltjenerne og købmændene, og videre til hjørnet med tagrummet. 32Endelig arbejdede guldsmedene og købmændene på det sidste stykke hen til Fåreporten.
Nehemias møder modstand
33Da Sanballat blev klar over, at vi var i gang med at genopbygge muren, blev han rasende og gav sig til at håne judæerne, 34mens hans landsmænd og Samarias officerer hørte på det. „Hvad i alverden bilder de elendige judæere sig ind?” sagde han. „Tror de, at de kan bygge muren op på en enkelt dag, hvis bare de ofrer til deres Gud? De kan da ikke bygge noget af de forbrændte murbrokker, de graver frem fra ruindyngerne.”
35Tobija, der stod ved siden af ham, bemærkede: „Lad dem bygge, så meget de vil! Den mur braser sammen, bare en ræv springer op på den!”
36Da bad jeg: „Herre, hør hvordan de gør nar af os! Lad dem selv blive gjort til nar. Lad dem få lov at prøve, hvordan det er at blive ført i eksil i et fremmed land. 37Herre, se ikke igennem fingre med deres synd. Tilgiv dem ikke, for de har hånet dem, der bygger på muren.”
38Så fortsatte vi med at arbejde på muren hele vejen rundt om byen. Den var allerede oppe i halv højde, for der var en god arbejdsmoral, og alle arbejdede hårdt.
