Nehemiah 1:3
New International Version
They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

New Living Translation
They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

English Standard Version
And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Berean Standard Bible
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.”

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

New American Standard Bible
And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and disgrace, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.”

NASB 1995
They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”

NASB 1977
And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”

Legacy Standard Bible
They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who remain from the captivity are in great calamity and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”

Amplified Bible
They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

Christian Standard Bible
They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned down.”

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And these men whom I asked were saying to me: “Those men who escaped from the captivity, behold, they are in the city dwelling in great affliction and in much reproach, and behold, the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned up in fire!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they said to me, The remnant, even those that are left of the captivity, are there in the land, in great distress and reproach: and the walls of Jerusalem are thrown down, and its gates are burnt with fire.

Contemporary English Version
They told me, "Those captives who have come back are having all kinds of troubles. They are terribly disgraced, Jerusalem's walls are broken down, and its gates have been burned."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they said to me: They that have remained, and are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction, and reproach: and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They told me, "Those who survived captivity are in the province. They are enduring serious troubles and being insulted. The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire."

Good News Translation
They told me that those who had survived and were back in the homeland were in great difficulty and that the foreigners who lived nearby looked down on them. They also told me that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down and that the gates had not been restored since the time they were burned.

International Standard Version
They told me, "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are living in great distress and shame. Furthermore, the Jerusalem wall remains broken down and its gates have been burned by fire."

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.'

Literal Standard Version
and they say to me, “Those left, who have been left of the captivity there in the province, [are] in great evil, and in reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

Majority Standard Bible
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.”

New American Bible
They answered me: “The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. The wall of Jerusalem has been breached, its gates gutted by fire.”

NET Bible
They said to me, "The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!"

New Revised Standard Version
They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”

New Heart English Bible
They said to me, "The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."

Webster's Bible Translation
And they said to 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 its gates are burned with fire.

World English Bible
They said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

Young's Literal Translation
and they say to me, 'Those left, who have been left of the captivity there in the province, are in great evil, and in reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burnt with fire.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Nehemiah's Prayer
2Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah. So I questioned them about the remnant of the Jews who had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. 3And 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.” 4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.…

Cross References
2 Kings 25:10
And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

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 fire?"

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 gates that had been destroyed by fire.

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 will no longer be a disgrace."

Nehemiah 7:6
These 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,

Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.

Jeremiah 39:8
The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.


Treasury of Scripture

And they said to 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

Nehemiah 7:6
These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;

Nehemiah 11:3
Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants.

Ezra 2:1
Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;

in great

Nehemiah 9:36,37
Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: …

Psalm 44:11-14
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen…

Psalm 137:1-3
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion…

reproach

1 Kings 9:7
Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

Psalm 79:4
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

Isaiah 43:28
Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

the wall

Nehemiah 2:17
Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

2 Kings 25:10
And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

Isaiah 5:5
And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:

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Affliction Band Broken Burned Burnt Captivity Destroyed Distress Doorways Escaped Evil Exile Fire Gates Great Jerusalem Jews Left Province Remnant Reproach Shame Small Survived Survivors Thereof Trouble Wall
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Affliction Band Broken Burned Burnt Captivity Destroyed Distress Doorways Escaped Evil Exile Fire Gates Great Jerusalem Jews Left Province Remnant Reproach Shame Small Survived Survivors Thereof Trouble Wall
Nehemiah 1
1. Nehemiah, understanding by Hanani the misery of Jerusalem, mourns, fasts, and prays
5. His prayer














(3) And they said.--Nehemiah's question and his friends answer refer first to the people and then to the city. As to the former the terms used have a deep pathos. Those who had returned to their country--now only the province--are, in the question, the Jews that had escaped; in the answer they are the Remnant that are left: both being from the captivity.

In great affliction and reproach.--In distress because of the contempt of the people around. All these expressions are familiar in the prophets; but they are united here in a peculiar and affecting combination. As to the city, the report is that the walls were still "broken down": lying prostrate, with partial exceptions, as Nebuchadnezzar left them a hundred and forty-two years before (2Kings 25:10), and, moreover, what had not been recorded, "the gates thereof burned with fire." Though the Temple had been rebuilt, there is no valid reason for supposing that. the walls of the city had been in part restored and again demolished.

Verse 3. - The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down. It has been supposed, either that the demolition of the wall here referred to was quite recent, having occurred during the space of twelve years which intervenes between the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, or else that it belonged to a time of depression which followed shortly after the completion of the temple by Zerubbabel (Ewald, 'History of Israel,' vol. 5. pp. 120, 121, and 148, note 3, E. Tr.); but there is really no reason to believe that the demolition effected under the orders of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:10) had ever hitherto been repaired, or the restoration of the wall even attempted. The Samaritan accusation in Ezra 4:12 falls short of a statement that the wall was restored, and, if it asserted the fact, would be insufficient authority for it. The supposition of Ewald, that "as soon as the city was rebuilt, the attempt would be made to fortify it" (p. 121, note 3), ignores the jealousy of the Persians and their power to step in and prevent a subject town from fortifying itself.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And they told
וַיֹּאמְרוּ֮ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

me,
לִי֒ (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

“The remnant
הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִ֞ים (han·niš·’ā·rîm)
Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7604: To swell up, be, redundant

who
אֲשֶֽׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

survived
נִשְׁאֲר֤וּ (niš·’ă·rū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7604: To swell up, be, redundant

the exile
הַשְּׁבִי֙ (haš·šə·ḇî)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7628: Exiled, captured, exile, booty

[are] there
שָׁ֣ם (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

in the province,
בַּמְּדִינָ֔ה (bam·mə·ḏî·nāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4082: A judgeship, jurisdiction, a district, a region

in great
גְדֹלָ֖ה (ḡə·ḏō·lāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 1419: Great, older, insolent

trouble
בְּרָעָ֥ה (bə·rā·‘āh)
Preposition-b | Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

and disgrace.
וּבְחֶרְפָּ֑ה (ū·ḇə·ḥer·pāh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2781: Contumely, disgrace, the pudenda

The wall
וְחוֹמַ֤ת (wə·ḥō·w·maṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2346: A wall of protection

of Jerusalem
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ (yə·rū·šā·lim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

[is] broken down,
מְפֹרָ֔צֶת (mə·p̄ō·rā·ṣeṯ)
Verb - Pual - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 6555: To break through

and its gates
וּשְׁעָרֶ֖יהָ (ū·šə·‘ā·re·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8179: An opening, door, gate

[are burned]
נִצְּת֥וּ (niṣ·ṣə·ṯū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3341: To burn, set on fire, to desolate

with fire.”
בָאֵֽשׁ׃ (ḇā·’êš)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire


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OT History: Nehemiah 1:3 They said to me The remnant who (Neh Ne)
Nehemiah 1:2
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