NEH 2:16 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not necessarily natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for Bible-translators and others doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still early looks into the drafted texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX (EZR 12:16) Καὶ οἱ φυλάσσοντες οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τί ἐπορεύθην, καὶ τί ἐγὼ ποιῶ· καὶ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, καὶ τοῖς ἐντίμοις, καὶ τοῖς στρατηγοῖς, καὶ τοῖς καταλοίποις τοῖς ποιοῦσι τὰ ἔργα, ἕως τότε οὐκ ἀπήγγειλα.
(Kai hoi fulassontes ouk egnōsan ti eporeuthaʸn, kai ti egō poiō; kai tois Youdaiois, kai tois hiereusi, kai tois entimois, kai tois strataʸgois, kai tois kataloipois tois poiousi ta erga, heōs tote ouk apaʸngeila.)

BrTr And the sentinels knew not why I went, nor what I was doing; and until that time I told it not to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the captains, or to the rest of the men who wrought the works.

ULT Now the prefects did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. And until this time I had not yet told the Jews, or the priests, or the nobles, or the prefects, or the rest of the doers of the work.

UST The city officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. To that point I had not said anything about it to the Jewish leaders, the priests, the leading citizens, or the city officials. I had not approached anyone about doing the work of rebuilding the walls.

BSB & MSB The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews or priests or nobles or officials or any other workers.

OEB No OEB NEH 2:16 book available

WEBBE & WMBB The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did. I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.

NET 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.

LSV And the prefects have not known to where I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the nobles, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, until now I have not declared [it];

FBV Those in charge of the city had no idea where I had gone or what I was doing, because I hadn't yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, or officials or any others about the construction plans.[fn]

2:16 “Construction plans”: literally, “doers of the work.”

T4T The city officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because I had not told anyone about what I planned to do. I had not said anything about it to the Jewish leaders or the officials or the priests or any of the others who would be helping me in the work that I wanted to do.

LEB The prefects did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the prefects, and the rest of the workers.

BBE And the chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing; and I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work.

Moff The guards did not know where I went or what I was doing. I had not yet told even the Jews or the priests or the authorities or the deputies or the rest of the workers.

JPS And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

ASV And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

DRA But the magistrates knew not whither I went, or what I did: neither had I as yet told any thing to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the magistrates, or to the rest that did the work.

YLT And the prefects have not known whither I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the freemen, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, hitherto I have not declared [it];

Drby And the rulers did not know whither I went or what I did, for I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

RV And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
(And the rulers knew not whither/where I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.)

SLT And the prefects knew not whither I went and what I was doing: and to the Jews and to the priests and to the nobles and to the prefects, and to the rest doing the work, even thus I announced not.

Wbstr And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

KJB-1769 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
(And the rulers knew not whither/where I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.)

KJB-1611 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did, neither had I as yet tolde it to the Iewes, nor to the Priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the worke.
(And the rulers knew not whither/where I went, or what I did, neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the Priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.)

Bshps And the rulers knewe not whyther I went or what I dyd: neither dyd I as yet tel it vnto the Iewes, to the priestes, to the noble men, to the rulers, and to the other that laboured in the worke.
(And the rulers knew not whither/where I went or what I did: neither did I as yet tell it unto the Jews, to the priests, to the noble men, to the rulers, and to the other that laboured in the work.)

Gnva And the rulers knewe not whither I was gone, nor what I did, neither did I as yet tell it vnto the Iewes, nor to the Priestes, nor to the noble men, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that laboured in the worke.
(And the rulers knew not whither/where I was gone, nor what I did, neither did I as yet tell it unto the Jews, nor to the Priests, nor to the noble men, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that laboured in the work.)

Cvdl And ye rulers knewe not whither I wete, or what I dyd: for hither to had I not tolde the Iewes & the prestes, the councelers & the rulers, & the other yt laboured in the worke,
(And ye/you_all rulers knew not whither/where I went, or what I did: for hither/hereto had I not told the Jews and the priests, the counsellors and the rulers, and the other it laboured in the work,)

Wycl Forsothe the magistratis wisten not, whidir Y hadde go, ethir what Y wolde do; but also Y hadde not schewid ony thing to the Jewis, and prestis, and to the best men, and magestratis, and to othere men that maden the werk, `til to that `place, that is, til to that tyme.
(For_certain/Truly the magistrates knew not, whether I had go, either what I would do; but also I had not showed any thing to the Jews, and priests, and to the best men, and magistrates, and to other men that made the work, till to that place, that is, till to that time.)

Luth Und die Obersten wußten nicht, wo ich hinging, oder was ich machte; denn ich hatte bis daher den Juden und den Priestern, den Ratsherren und den Obersten und den andern, die am Werk arbeiteten, nichts gesagt.
(And the colonel knew not, where I hinging, or what/which I made/did; because/than I had until therefore the Jews and the priests, the councillors and the colonel and the other, the in/at/on_the work worked, nothing said.)

ClVg Magistratus autem nesciebant quo abiissem, aut quid ego facerem: sed et Judæis, et sacerdotibus, et optimatibus, et magistratibus, et reliquis qui faciebant opus, usque ad id loci nihil indicaveram.
(Magistrate however they_were_ignorant_of where I_would_have_gone_away, or what I I_would_do: but and To_the_Jews, and to_the_priests, and nobles, and magistrates, and I_lefts who/which they_were_doing opus, until to that loci nothing I_had_indicated.)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

וְ⁠הַ⁠סְּגָנִ֗ים

(Some words not found in UHB: and,the,officials not know where gone and,what? I producing and,to,Jews and,to,priests and,to,nobles and,to,officials and,to,the_rest_of doing_of of,the_work until yes/correct/thus/so not told )

Alternate translation: [the city officials]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

עַד־כֵּ֖ן לֹ֥א הִגַּֽדְתִּי

until (Some words not found in UHB: and,the,officials not know where gone and,what? I producing and,to,Jews and,to,priests and,to,nobles and,to,officials and,to,the_rest_of doing_of of,the_work until yes/correct/thus/so not told )

The implication is that Nehemiah had not yet told anyone that he was planning to repair the walls. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: [had not yet told … that I was planning to repair the walls.]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠לַ⁠יְּהוּדִ֨ים וְ⁠לַ⁠כֹּהֲנִ֜ים וְ⁠לַ⁠חֹרִ֣ים וְ⁠לַ⁠סְּגָנִ֗ים

The implication seems to be that Nehemiah had not said anything privately about his plans to any particular group of leaders. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: [I had not even said anything about it privately to the Jewish leaders, the priests, the leading citizens, or the city officials]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

וְ⁠לַ⁠יְּהוּדִ֨ים

While this expression means “the Jewish people” in most of the book, in the contexts here and in [5:17](../05/17.md) it seems to mean “the Jewish leaders.” Nehemiah is describing some members of this people group, its leaders, as if they were the whole group. Alternate translation: [the Jewish leaders]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וּ⁠לְ⁠יֶ֨תֶר֙ עֹשֵׂ֣ה הַ⁠מְּלָאכָ֔ה

and,to,the_rest_of (Some words not found in UHB: and,the,officials not know where gone and,what? I producing and,to,Jews and,to,priests and,to,nobles and,to,officials and,to,the_rest_of doing_of of,the_work until yes/correct/thus/so not told )

This seems to refer to the people who would later rebuild the walls. Alternate translation: [the others who would later do the work of rebuilding the walls]

BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:

Poster Map of Jerusalem during the Time of Nehemiah, circa 445 B.C.

Author’s Note: This map draws heavily upon the careful work of Dr. Leen Ritmeyer (www.ritmeyer.com) regarding the probable location of gates, walls, and other features, though I have deviated at points from his data, based on my own research and conclusions.

A wealth of archaeological evidence supports the existence and location of many of the structures shown on this map, and great care has been taken to correlate them as faithfully as possible with the data provided in the book of Nehemiah and other biblical texts. Nevertheless, the specific identification of virtually all of these items is open to great debate. For this reason, no attempt has been made on this map to indicate any degree of uncertainty for the identifications that have been included, since the vast majority of these would be marked as uncertain anyway.

The shaded relief has been overlaid with the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem (1865), by Charles Wilson.

The book of Nehemiah is one of the last books of the Old Testament written, and it recounts the efforts of Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem long after they had been destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Jeremiah 39:1-10; see “Nebuchadnezzar’s Final Campaign against Judah” map). Nehemiah had been a trusted official in the Persian royal court who acquired a special commission to return to his ancestral land of Judea for the rebuilding effort (Nehemiah 1-2; see “Jews Return from Exile” map). After arriving in Jerusalem, he quickly surveyed the condition of the walls and then organized the people of Judea into work teams (Nehemiah 2-3). These teams each worked on a designated portion of the walls, and the entire project was completed in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). The builders came from Jerusalem and from towns throughout the greater province of Judea, and most of these towns are included in the map of “Judea under Persian Rule”.

It is far beyond the scope of this article to present all the textual and archaeological evidence that forms the basis for the identifications made on this map, but two specific portions of this map seem to warrant explanation:

One Gate of Ephraim or Two?

The Gate of Ephraim is mentioned in Nehemiah 8:16 and 12:39, and it is noted as lying along the path of the walls that Nehemiah rebuilt. This has indirectly led to some confusion, however, regarding the location of another gate called the Gate of Ephraim in 2 Kings 14:13 and 2 Chronicles 25:23, which both note that King Jehoash of Israel broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, a distance of 400 cubits. This confusion stems from equating the Gate of Ephraim mentioned in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles with the Gate of Ephraim mentioned in Nehemiah. Assuming the biblical text to be reliable, this assumption would require that the Corner Gate, which is mentioned also in 2 Chronicles 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; and Zechariah 14:10, would have been located somewhere along the wall about 600 feet (183 meters) from the Gate of Ephraim. Placing it directly west of the Gate of Ephraim of Nehemiah would place it very close to the Middle Gate, perhaps suggesting that the Middle Gate was in fact the Corner Gate. But Jeremiah’s mention of both the Middle Gate (39:3) and the Corner Gate (Jeremiah 31:38) in the same book makes this equation unlikely. Placing the Corner Gate directly north of the Gate of Ephraim near the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount seems plausible at first glance, but this location is very hard to reconcile with both Jeremiah 31:38 and Zechariah 14:10. Jeremiah 31:38 traces a line from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate, but this would make little sense if the Corner Gate were located in very close proximity to the Tower of Hananel. Similarly, Zechariah 14:10 appears to be using the Corner Gate as a marker for the far western extreme of Jerusalem, but a location at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount hardly seems like the intended location.

A more likely solution can be found by regarding the Gate of Ephraim of 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25 as different than the Gate of Ephraim of Nehemiah, though perhaps the Gate of Ephraim had been renamed after the exile to hearken back to the old Gate of Ephraim, which had been destroyed. If this is true, the earlier Gate of Ephraim may actually have been the same as the Middle Gate of Jeremiah 39:3 (Jeremiah never mentions the Gate of Ephraim), or perhaps it was a gate near where the Middle Gate was built later. This location, then, would place the Corner Gate at the far western corner of the larger wall around greater Jerusalem, as shown on this map. The distance between these two gates is about 600 feet (183 meters), and the appropriately named Corner Gate would be a fitting candidate to mark the far western extreme of the city.

It should also be noted that this solution, however, requires that the first Gate of Ephraim existed prior to Hezekiah’s building activity. This stands in contrast to the common assertion that the wall encompassing greater Jerusalem (which Josephus calls the First Wall) was built by Hezekiah in response to the dramatic increase in residents that relocated to Jerusalem due to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. But the only mention in the Bible of Hezekiah building a new wall is 2 Chronicles 32:5, which notes that he built a wall “outside” the wall that was broken down (2 Chronicles 32:5). This is most likely referencing a wall in the Kidron Valley that has since been found by archaeology, and perhaps a second wall around the Temple Mount. So it would seem that elsewhere Hezekiah merely repaired or replaced portions of a wall that already existed but was in disrepair. This synchronizes well with Isaiah 22:11, where Isaiah rebukes a leader (perhaps Hezekiah) for breaking down houses “to fortify the wall” (not build a new one).

Wall Enclosing the King’s Pool

Another common assumption that is difficult to correlate with Nehemiah is the placement of the King’s Pool and the Lower Pool outside the main wall of the City of David. (The King’s Pool was likely the same as the Old Pool mentioned in Isaiah 22:11. The Lower Pool appears to be alternately called elsewhere the [Pool of] Shiloah/Siloam [Isaiah 8:6] and the Pool of Shelah [Nehemiah 3:15], which is fed by the Dragon’s Spring [Nehemiah 2:13].) Two different passages in Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:13; 12:31) clearly trace a path along a wall from the Valley Gate (likely midway up the western wall of the City of David) directly to the Dung Gate, with no mention of any other gates or distinct changes in direction. Likewise, both Nehemiah 3:15 and 12:37 note that the Fountain Gate (likely located immediately northeast of the King’s Pool on this map) was reached after passing by the Dung Gate. This author has become convinced that this requires that the Dung Gate lay along a portion of the wall that must have extended directly from the area of the Valley Gate. Further details are given in Nehemiah 3:13, which notes that Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired 1000 cubits (1500 feet; 457 meters) of the wall from the Valley Gate to the Dung Gate. If the Valley Gate and the Dung Gate were indeed located at the two places shown on this map, and a wall between them followed the path shown here, the distance between them along the wall would have measured about 1548 feet (472 meters), or 1032 cubits–extremely close to the 1000-cubit distance given in Nehemiah 3:13. The existence of this wall is also supported by Isaiah 22:11-12, which notes that a reservoir for the waters of the Old Pool (likely the same as the King’s Pool on this map) had been built “between the two walls.” This could be understood to refer to Josephus’s First Wall and the wall immediately north of the King’s Pool, but this author suspects instead that it is referring to the wall that must have already existed immediately south of the Lower Pool and the King’s Pool on this map.

Parallel NEH 2:16

Poster Map of Jerusalem during the Time of Nehemiah, circa 445 B.C.