At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall, above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
Parallel translations
- WEB By the spring gate, and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of David’s city, at the ascent of the wall, above David’s house, even to the water gate eastward.
- KJV And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
- BSB At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
- NKJV By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up the stairs of the City of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward.
- NLT At the Fountain Gate they went straight up the steps on the ascent of the city wall toward the City of David. They passed the house of David and then proceeded to the Water Gate on the east.
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
The first choir went up by the Spring Gate and the stairs of David's city, past his house, to the Water Gate. It matters because the procession traced the restored city, declaring God's faithfulness over its landmarks.
Overview
The route is described in detail, ascending by the stairs of the city of David toward the Water Gate eastward. Each named place marked the security God had restored to His city. The procession claimed the whole rebuilt city for the Lord's glory, a pattern of consecrating all of life to God that finds its fullness in Christ's reign.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Neh 3:26(Now the temple servants lived in Ophel, to the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out.)
- Neh 2:14Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king’s pool, but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.
- Neh 8:1All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the wide place that was in front of the water gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded to Israel.
- Neh 8:3He read from it before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those who could understand. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
- Neh 8:16So the people went out, and brought them, and made themselves temporary shelters, 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.
- 2 Sam 5:7–9Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. This is David’s city.
- Neh 3:15–16Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah repaired the spring gate. He built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king’s garden, even to the stairs that go down from David’s city.
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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 12:37 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.