Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.
Didn't your ancestors do the same things, and didn't our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city because of it? Yet you're bringing even more anger from God on Israel by treating the Sabbath as unholy.
Nehemiah is warning the people that they're repeating the same sins their ancestors committed, which led to God's judgment, and now they're making things worse by breaking the Sabbath.
📚 Historical Context
Nehemiah was speaking to Jewish merchants and workers who were conducting business on the Sabbath day, violating God's command to rest. The Jewish people had recently returned from 70 years of exile in Babylon, which they understood as God's punishment for their ancestors' disobedience to His laws. Nehemiah feared that continuing to break God's commands, especially Sabbath observance, would bring further divine judgment.
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