He's
a perfectionist, Uzziel:
Smooth
stone clings to smooth stone,
Jointed
together. He works slowly
Bringing
to masonry
The
goldsmith's carefulness.
You
can smell it on his clothes,
He
is not used to the dust of building,
Yet
he works stolidly,
Hananiah
the perfumer.
His
muscles ache but grow firmer.
Strange
to see Rephaiah,
Ruler
of half Jerusalem,
Out
of his council robes,
Grubbing
among the rubble,
Hammer
and chisel in hand.
With
his house facing the danger
Storms
and stones and arrows
Jedaiah
(his wife and children
Cowering
in the yard)
Has
the greatest incentive to labour:
He
builds for strength, not beauty.
I
know little of Hattush.
He
is a reticent man.
He
structured this rampart alone.
Malchijah
was not content
His
own patch established
To
lounge, watching his fellows
Still
struggling at their tasks.
His
energy and time
He
spent on this wall and tower:
He
had his friend Hasshub to help.
Look
at those girls!
Shallum,
the other ruler,
Having
no son
Has
his daughters labouring for him,
Measuring,
chiselling, carrying:
They
are forming a sturdy bulwark.
Nehemiah 3
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