'Gates' in the Bible

but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates.

All these cities were fortified and unassailable with their high walls, gates, and bars; in addition, [there were] a very great number of unwalled villages.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock or the stranger who stays inside your [city] gates, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

then you shall bring that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to the gates [of your city] and you shall stone the man or the woman to death.

Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”

“They chose new gods;Then war was in the gates.Was there a shield or spear seenAmong forty thousand in Israel?

“At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places,There they shall recount the righteous acts of the Lord,The righteous acts toward His villagers in Israel.Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.

The men of Israel and Judah stood with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to the valley and the gates of Ekron. And the [fatally] wounded Philistines fell along the way to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.

Now when Saul was informed that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city that has double gates and bars.”

Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the lookout went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he raised his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone.

In his days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord, which He spoke through Joshua the son of Nun.

So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, that is, the house of the tabernacle, as guards.

David prepared large quantities of iron to make nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps (trusses), and more bronze than could be weighed;

He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars [to lock the gates];

So he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars [to secure the doors]. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him [longing for Him with all our heart] and He has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered.

Jehoiada stationed the gatekeepers [at the gates] of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.

And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests, and the Levites by their divisions, each in accordance with his service, both the priests and Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

and I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to construct beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, and for the city wall and for the house which I will occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

So I went out at night by the Valley Gate toward the Dragon’s Well and to the Refuse Gate and inspected the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.

Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation that we are in—how Jerusalem is desolate and lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, and let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there was no breach left in it, although at that time I had not set up doors in the gates,

I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while the watchmen are still standing guard, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, each at his post [on the wall], and each in front of his own house.”

Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates.

The priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

Now when it began to get dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath [began], I commanded that the doors be shut and not be opened until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load [of merchandise] would enter [Jerusalem] on the Sabbath day.

And I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, remember me concerning this also and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord;See how I am afflicted by those who hate me,You who lift me up from the gates of death,

That I may tell aloud all Your praises,That in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)I may rejoice in Your salvation and Your help.

Lift up your heads, O gates,And be lifted up, ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in.

Lift up your heads, O gates,And lift them up, ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in.

The Lord loves the gates of ZionMore than all the dwellings of Jacob (Israel).

Enter His gates with a song of thanksgivingAnd His courts with praise.Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.

For He has shattered the gates of bronzeAnd cut the bars of iron apart.

They detested all kinds of food,And they drew near to the gates of death.

Open to me the [temple] gates of righteousness;I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.

Our feet are standingWithin your gates, O Jerusalem,

For He has strengthened the bars of your gates,He has blessed your children within you.

She calls out at the head of the noisy streets [where large crowds gather];At the entrance of the city gates she speaks her words:

Beside the gates, at the entrance to the city,At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

“Blessed [happy, prosperous, to be admired] is the man who listens to me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at my doorposts.

The evil will bow down before the good,And the wicked [will bow down] at the gates of the righteous.

Her husband is known in the [city’s] gates,When he sits among the elders of the land.

Give her of the product of her hands,And let her own works praise her in the gates [of the city].

And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead];And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.

Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain,Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice,Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.

They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;“Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar’s court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!”

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,The one that remains faithful and trustworthy.

I said, “In mid-lifeI am to go through the gates of Sheol (the place of the dead),I am to be summoned, deprived of the remainder of my years.”

This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia],Whose right hand I have heldTo subdue nations before him,And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them];To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

“And I will make your battlements of rubies,And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,And all your [barrier] walls of precious stones.

“Your gates will be open continually;They shall not be shut day or night,So that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations—With their kings led in procession.

“Violence will not be heard again in your land,Nor devastation or destruction within your borders;But you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise [to God].

Go through, go through the gates,Clear the way for the people;Build up, build up the highway,Remove the stones, lift up a banner over the peoples.

For, behold, I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord; “and they will come and each one will set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah [as My judicial act, the consequence of Judah’s deliberate disobedience].

“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter by these gates to worship the Lord.’”

“Judah mournsAnd her gates languish;Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothesAnd the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

“I will winnow (sort, separate) them with a winnowing forkAt the gates of the land;I will deprive them of children, I will destroy My people;They did not repent and turn from their [evil] ways.

Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, and [stand] also in all the gates of Jerusalem;

and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the people of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.

Thus says the Lord, “Pay attention for your own good, [and for the sake of your future] do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.

But it will come about, if you listen diligently to Me,” says the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it,

then kings and princes who will sit on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses—the kings and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city will be inhabited and endure throughout the ages.

But if you will not listen to Me and keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load as you come in the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in her gates that cannot be extinguished, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”’”

‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates.

For if you will indeed obey this word, then kings will enter through the gates of this palace, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

“He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey—Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

“Arise [Nebuchadnezzar], go up against a nation which is at ease,Which lives securely,” says the Lord,“A nation which has neither gates nor bars;They dwell apart and alone.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely overthrown and the foundations razedAnd her high gates will be set on fire;The peoples will labor in vain,And the nations become exhausted [only] for fire [that will destroy their work].”

The roads to Zion are in mourningBecause no one comes to the appointed feasts.All her gates are desolate;Her priests are groaning,Her virgins are grieved and suffering,And she suffers bitterly.

Her gates have sunk into the ground;He has destroyed and broken her bars.Her king and her princes are [exiled] among the nations;The law is no more.Also, her prophets no longer findVision from the Lord.

The kings of the earth did not believe,Nor did any of the inhabitants of the earth,That the adversary (oppressor) and enemyCould enter the gates of Jerusalem.

so that hearts may melt, and many will fall at their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made [to flash] like lightning; it is pointed and sharpened for slaughter.

In his right hand is the lot marked for Jerusalem: to set battering rams, to open the mouth calling for destruction, to lift up the voice with a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to put up assault ramps, and to build siege walls.

Because of the great number of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake from the noise of the horsemen and the wagons and the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached.

and you will say, ‘I will go up against an open country; I will come against those who are at rest and peaceful, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having neither bars nor gates,

The pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates.

Then he brought me to the north gate and he measured it; the measurements were the same as those of the other gates,

A chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars of the gates; there the burnt offering was to be washed.

Yet they shall minister in My sanctuary, having oversight [as guards] at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

It shall be that when they enter the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed in linen garments; no wool shall be on them while they minister at the gates of the inner courtyard and within the temple (house).

there shall also be gates of the city, named after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.

On the east side, 4,500 cubits, also three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.

On the south side, 4,500 cubits, by measurement, also three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.

On the west side, 4,500 cubits, three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

The sword will whirl against and fall on their cities,And will demolish the bars of their gates and fortificationsAnd will consume them because of their counsels.

“On the day that [Jerusalem was destroyed] you stood aloof [from your brother Jacob]—On the day that strangers took his forces captive and carried off his wealth,And foreigners entered his gatesAnd cast lots for Jerusalem [dividing the city for plunder]—You too were like one of them [collaborating with the enemy].

They shall devastate the land of Assyria with the sword andThe land of Nimrod within her [own] gates.And He (the Messiah) shall rescue us from the Assyrian (all enemy nations)When he attacks our landAnd when he tramples our territory.

The gates of the rivers [surrounding Nineveh] are openedAnd the palace [of sun-dried brick] is dissolved [by the torrents].

Behold, your people are [as weak and helpless as] women in your midst!The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies;Fire consumes the bars across your gates.

These are the things which you should do: speak the truth with one another; judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in [the courts at] your gates.

And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ].

but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the city’s gates day and night so they could kill him;

The priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance of the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates, and wanted to offer sacrifices with the crowds.

Then the whole city was provoked and confused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the gates were closed.

It had a massive and high wall, with twelve [large] gates, and at the gates [were stationed] twelve angels; and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were written.