He built up the city around it, from the terrace to the surrounding walls; ¹  Joab restored the rest of the city.

They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees; ¹  they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty. ² 

So David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. David built all around it, from the terrace inwards.

With the timber the king made steps ¹  for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments ²  for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that. ³ )

The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown ¹  and all the terraced fields ²  out to the Kidron Valley ³  on the east as far north ⁴  as the Horse Gate ⁵  will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. ⁶  The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

There were entrances from the side chambers toward the open area, one entrance toward the north, and another entrance toward the south; the width of the open area was 8¾ feet ¹  all around.

Here are the details concerning the work crews ¹  King Solomon conscripted ²  to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, ³  and the cities of ⁴  Hazor, ⁵  Megiddo, ⁶  and Gezer.

Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the city of David ¹  to the palace Solomon built for her. ² 

This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: ¹  Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. ² 

I saw that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full measuring stick ¹  of 10½ feet ²  high.

The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ¹  and the guards ²  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ³  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ⁴  The king ⁵  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ⁶  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁷ 

Hezekiah ¹  energetically rebuilt ²  every broken wall. He erected towers and an outer wall, ³  and fortified the terrace of the City of David. ⁴  He made many weapons and shields.

Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it? Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”

The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was 8¾ feet, ¹  and the open area between the side chambers of the temple

“Take some large stones ¹  and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement ²  at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence ³  here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching. ⁴ 

“‘There was another great eagle ¹  with broad wings and thick plumage. Now this vine twisted its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him to be watered from the soil where it was planted.

“Be sure of this, ¹  the time is ²  coming,” says the Lord, “when the plowman will catch up to the reaper ³  and the one who stomps the grapes ⁴  will overtake ⁵  the planter. ⁶  Juice will run down the slopes, ⁷  it will flow down all the hillsides. ⁸ 

After this Manasseh ¹  built up the outer wall of the City of David ²  on the west side of the Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate and all around the terrace; he made it much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities in Judah.

The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake ¹  at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs ²  will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.