And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
They told me, 'The survivors who are left from the exile and are living in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem's wall is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.'
The writer is hearing devastating news that the Jewish people who returned from exile are struggling greatly, and Jerusalem's protective walls and gates are still destroyed.
📚 Historical Context
This takes place around 445 BC, about 90 years after the first Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem. While the temple had been rebuilt, the city remained vulnerable and its people demoralized because the protective walls were still in ruins from when the Babylonians destroyed them in 586 BC. Nehemiah, serving in the Persian court, is receiving this report from visitors who had come from Jerusalem.
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