Nehemiah 1:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

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.

The province

Esther 1:1

In great

Lamentations 5:1

Reproach

Jeremiah 44:8

The wall

Jeremiah 52:14

General references

Deuteronomy 4:27

Psalm 102:14

Bible References

The province

These are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and taken away by him, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his town:

These are the chiefs of the divisions of the country who were living in Jerusalem: but in the towns of Judah everyone was living on his heritage in the towns, that is, Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants.

These are the people of the divisions of the kingdom. Included were those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and taken away to Babylon, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his town.

This is to give the king word that we went to the land of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is made of large stones and has its walls supported with wood. The work is going on with diligence and they are making rapid progress.

Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia:

In great

Today, we are servants! As for the land you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it!

You give us over to be butchered like sheep and scatter us among the nations.

By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and cried as we remembered Zion.

Rise up, you women who are at ease. Hear my voice and pay attention to my word, you complacent daughters.

Jerusalem remembers in her days of sorrow and of her wanderings, all the desired things that were hers in the past. When her people were captive to the power of her adversary she had no helper. Her attackers desired her and made fun of her in her destruction.

Their bitter words have come to your ears, O Jehovah, and all their designs against me.

Keep in mind, O Jehovah, what has come to us. Take note and see our shame.

Reproach

I will have Israel cut off from the land I gave them. I will abandon this house even though I have made it holy for myself. I will put you out of my sight. Israel will be a public example, and a word of shame among all peoples.

We have become a disgrace to our neighbors, an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.

That is why I will corrupt the leaders of the holy place. I will claim Jacob for destruction. I will set up Israel for ridicule.

I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be a disgrace and an example. They will become something ridiculed and cursed wherever I scatter them.

I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them.

Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: 'Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be a horrifying sight. People will make fun of you and use your name as a curse. You will never see this place again.'

Why do you make me angry by worshiping idols and by sacrificing to other gods here in Egypt, where you have come to live? Are you doing this just to destroy yourselves, so that every nation on earth will make fun of you and use your name as a curse?

The wall

Then I said to them: You see what a bad condition we are in. How Jerusalem is a waste. It's gateways burned with fire. Come; let us get to work, building up the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be put to shame.

The army of the Chaldaeans under the command of the captain of the army broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge and break down the wall that protects it. I will let wild animals eat it and trample it down.

Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a desert. Jerusalem is a wasteland.

Go up through her vineyards and destroy them. But do not execute a complete destruction. Strip away her branches, for they are not Jehovah's.

The Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the houses of the people and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.

General references

Jehovah will scatter you among the nations. You will become few in number among the heathen, where Jehovah will lead you.

Your servants find pleasure in her stones and feel pity for her dust.