Nehemiah 1:3 - Forerunner Commentary

Nehemiah 1:3

Nehemiah Prays for His People

1 The words of ^aNehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the ^btwentieth year, as I was in ^cShushan the citadel,

2 that ^aHanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the ^aprovince are there in great distress and ^breproach. ^cThe wall of Jerusalem ^dis also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 And I said: “I pray, ^aLord God of heaven, O great and ^bawesome God, ^cYou who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love¹ You and observe Your commandments,

6 please let Your ear be attentive and ^aYour eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and ^bconfess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

7 ^aWe have acted very corruptly against You, and have ^bnot kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.

Verse Comparison: Nehemiah 1:3

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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.

Amplified® Bible
And they said to me, The remnant there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its [fortified] gates are destroyed by 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."

Darby English Version
And they said to me, Those who remain, that are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction and reproach; and the wall of Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire.

Good News Bible
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.

King James 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.

New American Standard Bible
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."

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 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 areburned with fire."

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
They said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity have fallen in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem has broken down and its gates burn with fire."

Revised Standard Version
And they said to me, "The survivors there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by 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.'

New English Translation
They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable¹ adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!”²

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