young ladies engaged in the work,
standing, trowel in hand, toiling away side by side with the other
workmen. Who are these girls? They are the daughters of Shallum, the
ruler of the half part of Jerusalem (ver. 12) (or rather of the country
round Jerusalem). Shallum was evidently a wealthy and influential man,
but he did not withdraw from the work, like the nobles of Tekoa, and so
anxious are his daughters that the Lord's work should be done, that here
we find them toiling away by their father's side. God noticed the effort
made by these young ladies of Jerusalem, and did not forget to notice
them in His great honour list.

Passing on, we come to the part of the wall which Nehemiah had examined
in his moonlight ride. We see the Valley Gate, the Dung Gate, and the
Gate of the Fountain, opposite the Pool of Siloam. This part of the city
has suffered much from Nebuchadnezzar's work of destruction, and the
work of rebuilding it is therefore very heavy. But close to the
south-east corner, at the place where Nehemiah's mule stumbled and was
unable to proceed, the builders have a stiff piece of work indeed. The
piles of rubbish are so many and so deep, there is so much to be cleared
away before they can commence building, that we find accordingly the
piece given to each man to repair is not great, and that many hands are
making the labour light.

We notice, too, that most of those who are working in this part of the
city are repairing that bit of the wall which is immediately opposite
their own houses. No less than six times we are told that the builder's
own house was close to the part of the wall he built.

One man we cannot help watching as we turn round towards the eastern
wall. His name is Baruch, and there is something about him which
attracts our attention at once. He works as if he were working for his
life, he does not lose a moment; whoever is absent, Baruch is always at
his post; whoever is idle, Baruch is ever hard at work, early in the
morning and late at night, when the hot sun is scorching the city and
when the night dews are falling, Baruch is always busy, toiling away on
the wall with all his might and main. Ver. 20 tells us he 'earnestly
repaired.' The word means to be hot, to be on fire with zeal and energy.
He 'earnestly repaired the _other_ piece,' or as it would be better
translated '_another_ piece.' Having finished his own portion, in
another part of the wall, Baruch has come to the rescue at the
s