31. After him, Malchijah, a member of the goldsmiths’ guild, carried out the work of repair as far as the quarters of the temple servants and the merchants, in front of the Gate of Inspection and as far as the upper chamber of the Angle.
32. Between the upper chamber of the Angle and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out the work of repair.
33. When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and very much incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,
34. saying in the presence of his associates and the troops of Samaria: “What are these miserable Jews trying to do? Will they complete their restoration in a single day? Will they recover these stones, burnt as they are, from the heaps of dust?”
35. Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said: “Whatever they are building—if a fox attacks it, it will breach their wall of stones!”
36. Hear, our God, how we were mocked! Turn back their reproach upon their own heads and deliver them up as plunder in a land of captivity!
37. Do not hide their crime and do not let their sin be blotted out in your sight, for they insulted the builders to their faces!
38. We, however, continued to build the wall, and soon it was completed up to half its height. The people worked enthusiastically.