The wall of Jerusalem had not yet been completed when Nehemiah's attention was called to the unhappy condition of the poorer classes of the people. In the unsettled state of the country, tillage had been to some extent neglected. Furthermore, because of the selfish course pursued by some who had returned to Judea, the Lord's blessing was not resting upon their land, and there was a scarcity of grain.

Dette kapitel er bygget op over Neh 5
Inden Jerusalems mur var bygget færdig, blev Nehemias opmærksom på den fattige befolknings usle kår. Der var endnu ikke blevet indført ordnede forhold i landet, og jorden var ikke taget under ploven i fuld udstrækning. Hertil kom, at Herren ikke kunne velsigne landet på grund af den egenkærlighed, som nogle af de tilbagesendte judæere lagde for dagen. Der var også mangel på korn.