3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest and his priestly colleagues 1 arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated 2 it and erected its doors, working as far as the Tower of the Hundred 3 and 4 the Tower of Hananel.
1:4 When I heard these things I sat down abruptly, 5 crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
1 tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”
2 tn Or “consecrated” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, ASV “sanctified”; NCV “gave it to the Lord’s service.”
3 tc The MT adds קִדְּשׁוּהוּ (qidshuhu, “they sanctified it”). This term is repeated from the first part of the verse, probably as an intentional scribal addition to harmonize this statement with the preceding parallel statement.
4 tc The translation reads וְעַד (vÿ’ad, “and unto”) rather than the MT reading עַד (ad, “unto”). The original vav (ו) was probably dropped accidentally due to haplography with the final vav on the immediately preceding word in the MT.
5 tn Heb “sat down.” Context suggests that this was a rather sudden action, resulting from the emotional shock of the unpleasant news, so “abruptly” has been supplied in the present translation.