'Walls' in the Bible
For, behold, I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord; “and they will come and each one will set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah [as My judicial act, the consequence of Judah’s deliberate disobedience].
Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like an iron pillar and like bronze walls against the whole land—against the [successive] kings of Judah, against its leaders, against its priests, and against the people of the land [giving you divine strength which no hostile power can overcome].
“Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]!Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile],For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon),And great destruction.
My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart!My heart is pounding and throbbing within me;I cannot be silent,For you have heard, O my soul,The sound of the trumpet,The alarm of war.
“Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them],But do not completely destroy everything.Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines],For they are not the Lord’s.
‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Behold, I will turn back and dull the edge of the weapons of war that are in your hands, [those] with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them into the center of this city (Jerusalem).
See the siege ramps [of mounded earth that the enemy has built against the walls]; they have come up to the city to capture it. And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans [of Babylon] who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the virulent disease [that have overcome the people]. What You have spoken has come to pass, and behold, You see it.
When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and escaped from the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls; and the king went out toward the Arabah (Jordan Valley).
The Chaldeans also burned down the king’s palace and the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
“You inhabitants of Moab,Leave the cities and live among the rocks,And be like the dove that makes her nestIn the walls of the yawning ravine.
“Raise the battle cry against her on every side!She has given her hand [in agreement] and has surrendered; her pillars have fallen,Her walls have been torn down.For this is the vengeance of the Lord:Take vengeance on her;As she has done [to others], do to her.
Set up a signal on the walls of Babylon [to spread the news];Post a strong blockade,Station the guards,Prepare the men for ambush!For the Lord has both purposed and doneThat which He spoke against the people of Babylon.
Thus says the Lord of hosts,“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely overthrown and the foundations razedAnd her high gates will be set on fire;The peoples will labor in vain,And the nations become exhausted [only] for fire [that will destroy their work].”
Then the city was broken into, and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night [as Ezekiel prophesied] passing through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They fled by way of the Arabah (the Jordan Valley).
So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.