The terms used present a dire picture. The term rendered trouble
is the word for evil, badness, wickedness and so denotes misery. The addition of the adjective great
underscores the depth of the badness and misery the remnant is experiencing. The term shame
captures the helplessness and hopelessness one feels in the face of scorn and insult and contempt. Clearly, the respondents’ use of these emotionally loaded terms reflects a hard and bitter reality on the ground back in Judah.
3 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.”