NEH 8:16 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 18:16) Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ λαὸς, καὶ ἤνεγκαν, καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς σκηνὰς ἀνὴρ ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς οἴκου τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐν πλατείαις τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἕως πύλης Ἐφραίμ.
(Kai exaʸlthen ho laos, kai aʸnegkan, kai epoiaʸsan heautois skaʸnas anaʸr epi tou dōmatos autou, kai en tais aulais autōn, kai en tais aulais oikou tou Theou, kai en plateiais taʸs poleōs, kai heōs pulaʸs Efraim.)

BrTr And the people went forth, and brought them, and made booths for themselves, each one upon his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the streets of the city, and as far as the gate of Ephraim.

ULT And the people went out and brought and made huts for themselves, a man on his roof, and in their courtyards, and in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the open area of the gate of water, and in the open area of the gate of Ephraim.

UST So the people went out of the towns and cut branches and brought them to make shelters for themselves. They built shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the temple, in the plaza near the Water Gate, and in the plaza near the Ephraim Gate.

BSB & MSB And the people went out, brought back [branches], and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate [and] by the Gate of Ephraim.

OEB No OEB NEH 8:16 book available

WEBBE & WMBB So the people went out and brought them, and made themselves temporary shelters,[fn] everyone on the roof of his house, in their courts, in the courts of God’s house, in the wide place of the water gate, and in the wide place of Ephraim’s gate.

8:16 or, booths

NET So the people went out and brought these things back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple of God and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate.

LSV And the people go out, and bring in, and make for themselves shelters, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the Water Gate, and in the broad place of the Gate of Ephraim.

FBV So they went out and brought back branches and made shelters for themselves on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God's Temple, and in the squares near the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate.

T4T So the people went out of the city and cut branches and used them to build shelters. They built shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the temple, and in the plazas/squares close to the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate.

LEB So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the public square of the Water Gate, and in the public square of the Gate of Ephraim.

BBE And the people went out and got them and made themselves tents, every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the house of God, and in the wide place of the water-doorway, and the wide place of the doorway of Ephraim.

Moff So the people went out and brought them, and made booths on the roof of each house and in the courts, in the courts of the house of God, in the open space at the water gate and in the open space at the gate of Ephraim.

JPS So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

ASV So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

DRA And the people went forth, and brought. And they made themselves tabernacles every man on the top of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

YLT And the people go out, and bring in, and make for themselves booths, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water-gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

Drby And the people went forth and brought [them], and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of [fn]God, and in the open space of the water-gate, and in the open space of the gate of Ephraim.

8.16 Elohim

RV So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

SLT And the people will go forth, and will bring and make for themselves booths, each upon his roof, and in their enclosures, and in the enclosures of the house of God, and in the broad place of the gate of the waters and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

Wbstr So the people went forth, and brought them , and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water-gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

KJB-1769 ¶ So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

KJB-1611 ¶ So the people went foorth, and brought them, and made themselues boothes, euery one vpon the roofe of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the streete of the water-gate, and in the streete of the gate of Ephraim.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And so the people went foorth, and fet them and made them boothes, euery one vpon the roofe of his house, and in their courtes, and in the courtes of the house of God, and in the streete by the water gate, and in the streete of the port of Ephraim.
(And so the people went forth, and fetched them and made them booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street by the water gate, and in the street of the port of Ephraim.)

Gnva So the people went foorth and brought them, and made them boothes, euerie one vpon the roofe of his house, and in their courtes, and in the courtes of the house of God, and in the streete by the watergate, and in the streete of the gate of Ephraim.
(So the people went forth and brought them, and made them booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street by the watergate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.)

Cvdl And ye people wente vp, and fetched the, and made them bothes, euery one vpon the rofe of his house, and in their courtes, and in the courtes of the house of God, and in the strete by the Watergate, and in the strete by Ephraims porte.
(And ye/you_all people went up, and fetched them, and made them booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street by the Water Gate, and in the street by Ephraims port.)

Wycl And al the puple yede out, and thei brouyten, and maden to hem silf tabernaclis, `ech man in `his hows roof, and in her stretis, `ether foryerdis, and in the large placis of Goddis hows, and in the street of the yate of watris, and in the street of the yate of Effraym.
(And all the people went out, and they brought, and made to themself tabernacles/tents, each man in his house roof, and in her streets, either forecourts, and in the large places of God’s house, and in the street of the gate of waters, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.)

Luth Und das Volk ging hinaus und holeten und machten ihnen Laubhütten, ein jeglicher auf seinem Dach und in ihren Höfen und in den Höfen am Hause Gottes und auf der breiten Gasse am Wassertor und auf der breiten Gasse am Tor Ephraim.
(And the people went out and got and make to_them booths, a any/each on/in/to his roof and in your(pl) courtyard and in the courtyard in/at/on_the house(n) God’s and on/in/to the/of_the wide alley/lane in/at/on_the water_gate and on/in/to the/of_the wide alley/lane in/at/on_the doorway Ephraim.)

ClVg Et egressus est populus, et attulerunt. Feceruntque sibi tabernacula unusquisque in domate suo: et in atriis suis, et in atriis domus Dei, et in platea portæ aquarum, et in platea portæ Ephraim.[fn]
(And going_out it_is the_people, and they_brought. And_they_did to_himself shelters/tents each_one/everybody in/into/on tame his_own: and in/into/on courts to_his_own, and in/into/on courts home of_God, and in/into/on street/courtyard gates of_waters, and in/into/on street/courtyard gates Ephraim.)

8.16 Unusquisque in domate. ID., ibid. In domate suo, etc., usque ad et in majoribus bonæ actionis frugibus abundare mereamur.

8.16 Everyone in/into/on tame. ID., there. In tame his_own, etc., until to and in/into/on to_the_elders good action produce to_abound we_may_be_deserved.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וַ⁠יֵּצְא֣וּ הָ⁠עָם֮ וַ⁠יָּבִיאוּ֒

(Some words not found in UHB: and=they_went_out the,people and,they_brought_[leaves] and=they_made to/for=them booths (a)_man on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in roof,his_own and,in,courtyards_of,their and,in,the_courtyards_of house_of the=ʼElohīm and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of the=waters and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of Efrayim )

Here the story is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would ordinarily need in order to be complete. The meaning is clear from the context. Alternate translation: [the people went out and got branches]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וַ⁠יַּעֲשׂוּ֩ לָ⁠הֶ֨ם סֻכּ֜וֹת אִ֤ישׁ עַל־גַּגּ⁠וֹ֙

In this context, a man is an idiom that means “each person” and likely “each family.” It does not mean only an adult male. Alternate translation: [and each family built shelters on their roofs]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

עַל־גַּגּ⁠וֹ֙

on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in (Some words not found in UHB: and=they_went_out the,people and,they_brought_[leaves] and=they_made to/for=them booths (a)_man on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in roof,his_own and,in,courtyards_of,their and,in,the_courtyards_of house_of the=ʼElohīm and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of the=waters and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of Efrayim )

In this culture, roofs were flat and were reached by stairs that led up to them from outside the house. So a shelter could stand on the flat roof and the family could use it as a temporary home. Alternate translation: [on their flat roofs]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וּ⁠בְ⁠חַצְרֹ֣תֵי⁠הֶ֔ם

and,in,courtyards_of,their

In this culture, houses were built around an open courtyard. So a shelter could be set up there, within the walls of the house. Alternate translation: [and in the courtyards within the walls of their homes]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ⁠בְ⁠חַצְר֖וֹת בֵּ֣ית הָ⁠אֱלֹהִ֑ים

and,in,the_courtyards_of (Some words not found in UHB: and=they_went_out the,people and,they_brought_[leaves] and=they_made to/for=them booths (a)_man on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in roof,his_own and,in,courtyards_of,their and,in,the_courtyards_of house_of the=ʼElohīm and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of the=waters and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of Efrayim )

As in 6:10, here the book speaks of the temple as the “house of God,” as if it were God’s dwelling place. Alternate translation: [and in the temple courtyards]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ⁠בִ⁠רְחוֹב֙ שַׁ֣עַר הַ⁠מַּ֔יִם

and,in,the_open_space_of (Some words not found in UHB: and=they_went_out the,people and,they_brought_[leaves] and=they_made to/for=them booths (a)_man on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in roof,his_own and,in,courtyards_of,their and,in,the_courtyards_of house_of the=ʼElohīm and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of the=waters and,in,the_open_space_of gate_of Efrayim )

Here the story is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would ordinarily need in order to be complete. The meaning is clear from the context, since this same location is described in 8:1 and 8:3. Alternate translation: [and in the square in front of the Water Gate]

Note 7 topic: translate-names

שַׁ֣עַר הַ⁠מַּ֔יִם

This is the name of one of the gates of Jerusalem. See how you translated it in 3:26, 8:1, and 8:3. Alternate translation: [the Water Gate]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ⁠בִ⁠רְח֖וֹב שַׁ֥עַר אֶפְרָֽיִם

Here the story is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would ordinarily need in order to be complete. The meaning is clear from the context. Alternate translation: [and in the square in front of the Ephraim Gate]

Note 9 topic: translate-names

שַׁ֥עַר אֶפְרָֽיִם

This is the name of another one of the gates of Jerusalem. Alternate translation: [the Ephraim Gate]

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 8:16

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