“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lives in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.’” (NRSV, Nehemiah 2:17)

“All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding.” (NRSV, Nehemiah 8:1–2)