But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.
But because our ancestors made the God of heaven angry, he allowed Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon and ruler of the Chaldeans, to conquer them. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this temple and took our people away as captives to Babylon.
The Jewish leaders are explaining that their ancestors' disobedience to God led to the destruction of Solomon's temple and their people being taken captive to Babylon.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of a letter written by Jewish leaders to King Darius of Persia around 520 BC, explaining why they were rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They were referring to the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC under Nebuchadnezzar II, when Solomon's temple was destroyed and many Jews were exiled to Babylon for about 70 years.
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