³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever!^(A) Why should my face not look sad when the city^(B) where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?^(C)”

¹³ By night I went out through the Valley Gate^(A) toward the Jackal^[a] Well and the Dung Gate,^(B) examining the walls^(C) of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.^(A) Come, let us rebuild the wall^(B) of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.^(C)”