The word "them" refers to Nehemiah's brother, the manager of the city, and to Hananiah, who was responsible for the citadel.
## the sun is hot ##
"the sun is high in the sky"
## While the gatekeepers are on guard ##
"If the gatekeepers are guarding the gate." The meaning here is "if the gatekeepers are challenging those approaching."
## gatekeepers ##
See how you translated this in [Nehemiah 7:1](./01.md)
## you may shut the doors and bar them ##
"you may close the gates and lock them"
## Appoint guards from those who live in Jerusalem, some at the place of their guard station, and some in front of their own homes. ##
These are the criteria for guards: those who live here and those whose homes are nearby. These people were not just hired but have a special interest in the security of that part of the city.
## Now the city was wide and large, but there were few people within it, and no houses had yet been rebuilt ##
The walled area was large but thinly populated, and people were still living in temporary shelters.
## no houses had yet been rebuilt ##
This may be an exaggeration to emphasize that the city was not in a finished state to house all the people. It is also a passive clause, which can be translated as an active clause. AT: "the people had not yet rebuilt many houses" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive]])
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