Nehemiah 2:14

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through.

Hebrew Names Version
Then 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.

King James Version
Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

English Standard Version
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.

New Century Version
Then I rode on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for the animal I was riding to pass through.

New English Translation
I passed on to the Gate of the Well and the King's Pool, where there was not enough room for my animal to pass with me.

Amplified Bible
Then I passed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for the animal that I was riding to pass.

New American Standard Bible
Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass.

World English Bible
Then 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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then I went foorth vnto the gate of the fountaine, and to the Kings fishpoole, and there was no rowme for the beast that was vnder me to passe.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I passed on to the Spring Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no place for my animal to pass.

Berean Standard Bible
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;

Contemporary English Version
On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the trail became too narrow for my donkey.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.

Darby Translation
And I went on to the fountain-gate, and to the king's pool; and there was no place for the beast under me to pass.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then I rode on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool. As I got close, I could see there was not enough room for my horse to get through.

George Lamsa Translation
Then I went on to the gate of the valley and to the kings pool; but there was no place for the beast that I was riding to pass.

Good News Translation
Then on the east side of the city I went north to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool. The donkey I was riding could not find any path through the rubble,

Lexham English Bible
I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for my mount to cross over.

Literal Translation
Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate, and to the King's Pool. But there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And I wente ouer vnto ye Well porte, & to the kynges condyte, & there was no rowme for my beest, yt it coulde go vnder me.

American Standard Version
Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Bible in Basic English
Then I went on to the door of the fountain and to the king's pool: but there was no room for my beast to get through.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I went ouer vnto the well port, and to the kinges conduite, and there was no roome for the beast that was vnder me to passe.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool; but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

King James Version (1611)
Then I went on to the gate of the fountaine, and to the kings poole: but there was no place for the beast that was vnder me, to passe.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I passed on to the fountain gate, and to the king’s pool; and there was no room for the beast to pass under me.

English Revised Version
Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y passid to the yate of the welle, and to the watir cundit of the kyng, and no place was to the hors, `on which Y sat `for to passe;

Update Bible Version
Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but [there was] no place for the beast [that was] under me to pass.

New King James Version
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.

New Living Translation
Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but my donkey couldn't get through the rubble.

New Life Bible
Then I went on to the Well Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no place for the animal I was on to pass.

New Revised Standard
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool; but there was no place for the animal I was riding to continue.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then passed I over unto the fountain-gate, and unto the pool of the king, - but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I passed to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s aqueduct, and there was no place for the beast on which I rode to pass.

Revised Standard Version
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool; but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Young's Literal Translation
And I pass over unto the gate of the fountain, and unto the pool of the king, and there is no place for the beast under me to pass over,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass.

Contextual Overview

⁹ It was the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king. At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before, so he asked me, "Why the long face? You're not sick are you? Or are you depressed?" That made me all the more agitated. I said, "Long live the king! And why shouldn't I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?" The king then asked me, "So what do you want?" Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, "If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it." The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, "How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?" I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me. Then I said, "If it please the king, provide me with letters to the governors across the Euphrates that authorize my travel through to Judah; and also an order to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of The Temple fortress, the wall of the city, and the house where I'll be living." The generous hand of my God was with me in this and the king gave them to me. When I met the governors across The River (the Euphrates) I showed them the king's letters. The king even sent along a cavalry escort. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very upset, angry that anyone would come to look after the interests of the People of Israel. ¹¹And so I arrived in Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, I got up in the middle of the night, I and a few men who were with me. I hadn't told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I was riding. ¹³Under cover of night I went past the Valley Gate toward the Dragon's Fountain to the Dung Gate looking over the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken through and whose gates had been burned up. I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and headed for the King's Pool but there wasn't enough room for the donkey I was riding to get through. So I went up the valley in the dark continuing my inspection of the wall. I came back in through the Valley Gate. The local officials had no idea where I'd gone or what I was doing—I hadn't breathed a word to the Jews, priests, nobles, local officials, or anyone else who would be working on the job. ¹⁷Then I gave them my report: "Face it: we're in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come—let's build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer." I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, "We're with you. Let's get started." They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work. ¹⁹ When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they laughed at us, mocking, "Ha! What do you think you're doing? Do you think you can cross the king?" ²⁰ I shot back, "The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We're his servants and we're going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this—Jerusalem's none of your business!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the gate of the fountain: The gate leading either to the fountain of Siloam, on the east of the city, or to that of Gihon, on the west. Nehemiah 3:15, 2 Kings 18:17, 2 Kings 20:20, 2 Chronicles 32:30

the king's pool: Probably the aqueduct made by Hezekiah to bring the waters of Gihon to the city of David.

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 12:37 - the fountain gate Ecclesiastes 2:6 - pools

Cross-References

Genesis 10:22
The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

Daniel 10:4
"On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris. I looked up and to my surprise saw a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body was hard and glistening, as if sculpted from a precious stone, his face radiant, his eyes bright and penetrating like torches, his arms and feet glistening like polished bronze, and his voice, deep and resonant, sounded like a huge choir of voices.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then I went on to the pool of the fountain, and to the king's pool..... That led to the fountain Siloah or Gihon, so called; it was the way to the potter's field, to Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, and Egypt. Rauwolff says t there is still standing on the outside of the valley Tyropaeum (which distinguishes the two mountains Zion and Moriah) the gate of the fountain, which hath its name, because it leadeth towards the fountain of Siloah, called the king's pool:

but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass; because of the heaps of rubbish that lay there.

t Travels, par. 3. c. 3. p. 227.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The gate of the fountain - A gate on the eastern side of the Tyropoeon valley, not far from the pool of Siloam (probably “the king’s pool.” (Compare Nehemiah 3:15).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 14. The gate of the fountain — Of Siloah.

The king's pool — Probably the aqueduct made by Hezekiah, to bring the waters of Gihon to the city of David. See 2 Chronicles 32:30.