For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended his covenant faithfulness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to grant us a reviving to set up the house of our God and to repair its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
“and to give us a wall.” There was no literal wall, but Ezra was speaking about the protection from the enemies that was promised by the Persian king. In giving the Judeans permission to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple, and even to get help with what they needed from the surrounding peoples, the king of Persia built a wall of protection around the Jews. As we know from history, that “wall” immediately came under attack from the enemies of the Jews, and the work on the Temple was stopped.
REV Bible
