Gandalf traduz toda a declaração, incluindo a senha, quase tão logo a Irmandade os veja. Inicialmente a inscrição e a gravura inteira são invisíveis, e Gandalf precisa de um feitiço para torná-la visível:
'Well, here we are and all ready,' said Merry; 'but where are the Doors? I can't see any sign of them.'
'Dwarf-doors are not made to be seen when shut,' said Gimli. 'They are invisible, and their own masters cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten.'
'But this Door was not made to be a secret known only to Dwarves,' said Gandalf, coming suddenly to life and turning round. 'Unless things are altogether changed, eyes that know what to look for may discover the signs.' ...
'Look!' he said. 'Can you see anything now?' ... Slowly on the surface, where the wizard's hands had passed, faint lines appeared, like slender veins of silver running in the stone. At first they were no more than pale gossamer-threads, so fine that they only twinkled fitfully where the Moon caught them, but steadily they grew broader and clearer, until their design could be guessed.
At the top, as high as Gandalf could reach, was an arch of interlacing letters in an Elvish character.
Frodo pergunta a Gandalf o que a escrita diz, e Gandalf traduz:
'The words are in the elven-tongue of the West of Middle-earth in the Elder Days,' answered Gandalf. 'But they do not say anything of importance to us. They say only: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. And underneath small and faint is written: I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.'
Não há nenhuma razão particular para Legolas intervir e dizer a todos qual é a tradução: Frodo está especificamente perguntando a Gandalf, e Gandalf entende bem o sindarin para traduzir. (Ele certamente sabe o que é o élfico para "amigo". É provável, embora não certo, que Frodo também o faça.) É possível, também, que Legolas, como Frodo, não reconheça esse método particular de escrita - lá havia muitos métodos diferentes de escrever as línguas élficas, e nem todas eram mutuamente compreensíveis.
Ninguém, neste momento - nem Gandalf, nem Frodo, nem Legolas - percebe que a senha está escondida na inscrição. Demora um pouco para que Gandalf perceba o dispositivo:
He stepped up to the rock again, and lightly touched with his staff the silver star in the middle beneath the sign of the anvil.
Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!
Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!
he said in a commanding voice. The silver lines faded, but the blank grey stone did not stir. ... The cliff towered into the night, the countless stars were kindled, the wind blew cold, and the doors stood fast.
Finalmente, Gandalf descobre:
With a suddenness that startled them all the wizard sprang to his feet. He was laughing! 'I have it!' he cried. 'Of course, of course! Absurdly simple, like most riddles when you see the answer.'
Picking up his staff he stood before the rock and said in a clear voice: Mellon!
The star shone out briefly and faded again. Then silently a great doorway was outlined, though not a crack or joint had been visible before. Slowly it divided in the middle and swung outwards inch by inch, until both doors lay back against the wall.
Nem Frodo nem Legolas contribuem para todo esse processo, porque (embora eles certamente conheçam o significado das palavras envolvidas) eles não têm nenhuma ideia do truque por trás da senha.
Todas as citações de O Senhor dos Anéis , Livro II, Capítulo 4, "Uma jornada no escuro".
