"And I asked them concerning the Jews that survived, who has escaped exile, and concerning Jerusalem..." These were the words of

The words "And I asked them concerning the Jews that survived, who has escaped exile, and concerning Jerusalem..." were spoken by Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a Jewish cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes I. He was concerned about the state of Jerusalem and its walls, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. In 445 BC, he obtained permission from the king to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. The quote refers to a conversation Nehemiah had with some men who had recently returned from Judah. He asked them about the Jewish survivors and the state of Jerusalem, likely to assess the scope of the task ahead of him. The conversation is recorded in Nehemiah 1:2.