shakh.lel refers to the finishing of a city's walls in the reported condition of the city.

The attested use concerns walls reaching their finished state as part of a conditional report about a city being built; both occurrences place the same imperfect plural form in that setting.

1. Walls reaching completion · dominant

   In Ezra 4:13 and Ezra 4:16, the imperfect masculine plural form occurs in the condition that a city is built and its walls reach their finished state. In Ezra 4:13 the APB renders the clause "the walls are finished," and Ezra 4:16 presents the same wording within a warning to the king.

   Ezra 4:13Ezra 4:16

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across Ezra 4:13 and Ezra 4:16, the APB presents the relevant clause as "the walls are finished." This wording confirms the clause's setting rather than isolating a precise English equivalent.