When the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
- KJV Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
- NKJV Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
- NASB Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had installed the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites were appointed,
- NLT After the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in the gates, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.
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
With the wall built and doors set, Nehemiah appoints gatekeepers, singers, and Levites. Attention turns from defense to ordered worship and life in the city.
Overview
The completion of the physical wall leads to organizing the spiritual and civic order of Jerusalem, including those who serve in worship. Restoring proper temple personnel signals that the city's true life centers on God. This priority on worship after the work reminds us that God's purpose for His people is not mere security but communion with Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Neh 6:1When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the doors in the gates—
- Neh 6:15So the wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth of Elul.
- 2 Chr 31:2Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—for the burnt offerings and peace offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for singing praises at the gates of the LORD’s dwelling.
- Neh 3:1–32At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.
- Neh 12:24The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.
- Neh 10:39For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”
- Ezra 3:8In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD.
- 1 Chr 23:1–32When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
- 1 Chr 25:1–26Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:
- Neh 11:3These are the heads of the provinces who settled in Jerusalem. (In the villages of Judah, however, each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 7:1 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.