Nehemiah 1:3

3 They said to me, "The survivors in the province,^[a] who returned from the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem's wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned down."^[b]

Nehemiah 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 1:3

And they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province
In Judea, now reduced to a province of the Persian empire:

are in great affliction and reproach;
harassed and distressed, calumniated and vilified, by their enemies the Samaritans:

the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are
burnt with fire;
that is, its wall and gates were in the same condition in which Nebuchadnezzar had left them, for since his times as yet they had never been set up; for this is not to be understood of what was lately done by their adversaries, which is not at all probable.

Nehemiah 1:3 In-Context

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa,

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had returned from exile.

3 They said to me, "The survivors in the province, who returned from the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem's wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned down."

4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 I said, Lord God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commands,

Footnotes

• [a]. Neh 11:3
• [b]. Neh 2:13