Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. One was to proceed along the top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I brought up the princes of Judah on the wall, and appointed two great companies who gave thanks and went in procession. One went on the right hand on the wall toward the dung gate;
- KJV Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:
- NKJV So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate.
- NASB Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large choirs, the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Dung Gate.
- NLT I led the leaders of Judah to the top of the wall and organized two large choirs to give thanks. One of the choirs proceeded southward along the top of the wall to the Dung Gate.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nehemiah arranged the leaders of Judah into two great thanksgiving choirs that processed in opposite directions atop the wall. It matters because the very wall became a platform for public praise to God.
Overview
The princes were brought up on the wall and divided into two companies, one marching toward the Dung Gate, to give thanks in procession. Turning the rebuilt fortification into a stage for praise declared that the work was God's and dedicated to Him. This public, corporate thanksgiving models a community whose security and labor are offered back to the Lord in worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Neh 2:13So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.
- Neh 12:38The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,
- 1 Chr 13:1Then David conferred with all his leaders, the commanders of hundreds and of thousands.
- 1 Chr 28:1Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.
- 2 Chr 5:2At that time Solomon assembled in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.
- Neh 3:13–14The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it, installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
- Neh 12:40The two thanksgiving choirs then stood in the house of God, as did I, along with the half of the officials accompanying me,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 12:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.