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Nehemiah 1:3

in Nehemiah 1

And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Nehemiah 1

Commentary

2 notes on this verse
The attempt to rebuild the wall in the time of the Pseudo-Smerdis Ezr 4:12-24 had been stopped. It still remained in ruins. The Assyrian sculptures show that it was the usual practice to burn the gates.

This site's exposition

are burned with fire

on Nehemiah 1:3-4

Hanani's answer is stark: the wall of Jerusalem lies broken down and its gates are burned with fire, a report reaching Shushan more than a century after the first return under Zerubbabel. Nehemiah sits down and weeps, mourns certain days, and fasts and prays before the God of heaven, grief that comes long before any request for leave to act. The mourning falls in Chisleu; the asking of the king waits until Nisan, four months later at 2:1, so the praying runs far ahead of the chance to act on it. A man with wine in his hand at the world's court grieves first over stones he has never touched.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And they said to me They answered my first question first and my latter question last; first, concerning the Jews and afterwards, concerning the wall and the gates.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Nehemiah 1:3:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּאמְרוּ֮and they said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • לִי֒to me

    li

  • הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִ֞יםthe survivors

    hanisharimH7604 →133 times

  • אֲשֶֽׁר־who

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • נִשְׁאֲר֤וּthey have survived

    nisharuH7604 →133 times

  • מִן־from

    min-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַשְּׁבִי֙the captivity

    hasheviH7628 →49 times

  • שָׁ֣םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • בַּמְּדִינָ֔הin the province

    bamedinahH4082 →53 times

  • בְּרָעָ֥ה[are] in trouble

    beraahH7451 →662 times

  • גְדֹלָ֖הgreat

    gedolahH1419 →526 times

  • וּבְחֶרְפָּ֑הand in disgrace

    uvecherpahH2781 →73 times

  • וְחוֹמַ֤תand [the] wall of

    vechomatH2346 →133 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙Jerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • מְפֹרָ֔צֶת[has been] broken down

    meforatzetH6555 →49 times

  • וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָand gates its

    usheareihaH8179 →374 times

  • נִצְּת֥וּthey have been burned

    nitzetuH3341 →

  • בָאֵֽשׁ׃with <the> fire

    vaeshH784 →378 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Nehemiah 2:17Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”8 worksNehemiah 2:3and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”7 works2 Kings 25:10And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.6 worksNehemiah 2:13So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.6 worksProverbs 25:28Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.5 worksIsaiah 44:26who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 39:8The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.5 worksLamentations 2:9Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and shattered their bars. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and even her prophets find no vision from the LORD.4 worksJeremiah 52:14And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.4 worksNehemiah 7:6These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town,3 worksNehemiah 9:36–37So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—here we are as slaves!3 worksEzra 5:8Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. The people are rebuilding it with large stones, and placing timbers in the walls. This work is being carried out diligently and is prospering in their hands.3 worksDeuteronomy 4:27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.3 worksLamentations 5:1Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us. Look and see our disgrace!2 worksJeremiah 44:8–12Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside? As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.2 worksNehemiah 11:3These are the heads of the provinces who settled in Jerusalem. (In the villages of Judah, however, each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—2 works1 Kings 9:7then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.2 worksJeremiah 42:18For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Nehemiah 2:17

    Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we…

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 5:14

      I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

    • Isaiah 35:3–4

      Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!

    • Psalms 79:4

      We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us.

    • Lamentations 3:51

      My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.

    • Lamentations 3:45–46

      You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.

  • Through

    Nehemiah 2:13

    So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 2:3

      and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by…

    • Nehemiah 2:17

      Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we…

    • 2 Chronicles 26:9

      Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.

Where this verse is studied

About Nehemiah

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah: the study guide →Read Nehemiah 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in Nehemiah 1 →