Nehemiah 5

1 [Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.

And the cry of the people and their wives [was] great against their brethren the Jews.

2 Some/One of them said, “We have many children. So we need a lot of grain to be able to eat and continue to live.”

And some said, We [are] numerous with our sons and our daughters; so we will take corn, and eat, and live.

3 Others said, “The fields and vineyards and houses that we own, it has been necessary for us to (mortgage them/promise to give them to someone if we do not pay back to him the money he has loaned us) in order to get money to buy grain, during this (famine/time where there is not much food).”

And some said, [As to] our fields and vineyards and houses, let us pledge [them], and we will take corn, and eat.

4 Others said, “We have [needed to] borrow money to pay the taxes that the king [commanded us to pay] on our fields and our vineyards.

And some said, We have borrowed money for the king's tributes: —our fields, and our vineyards, and houses [are pledged].

5 We are Jews just like [IDM] they are. Our children are ([just as good as/equal with)] their children. But we have needed to sell some of our children to become slaves [in order to pay what we owe]. We have already sold some of our daughters to become slaves. Our fields and vineyards have been taken away from us, so now we do not have [the money to pay what we owe, and we are forced to sell our children to get money to pay those debts].”

And now our flesh [is] as the flesh of our brethren, our children [are] as their children: yet, behold, we are reducing our sons and our daughters to slavery, and some of our daughters are enslaved: and there is no power of our hands, for our fields and our vineyards [belong] to the nobles.

6 I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.

And I was much grieved as I heard their cry and these words.

7 So I thought about what I could do about it. I told the leaders and officials [who were responsible for this work], “You are charging interest to your own relatives [when they borrow money from you]!” Then I called together a large group of people,

And my heart took counsel within me, and I contended against the nobles, and the princes, and I said to them, Should every man demand of his brother what ye demand? And I appointed against them a great assembly,

8 and I said to their [leaders], “Some of our Jewish relatives have been forced to sell themselves to become slaves of people who have come from other countries. As much as we have been able to, we have been buying them back [out of slavery]. But now you are forcing your own relatives to sell themselves to you, their fellow Jews, as slaves!” [When I said that to them, ] they were silent. There was nothing that they could say [because they knew that what I said was true].

and I said to them, We of our free-will have redeemed our brethren the Jews that were sold to the Gentiles; and do ye sell your brethren? and shall they be delivered to us? And they were silent, and found no answer.

9 Then I said to them, “What you are doing is terrible [EUP]! You certainly ought to [RHQ] obey God and do what is right! If you did that, our enemies who do not revere Yahweh [would see that we are doing what is right and] would not ridicule us.

And I said, The thing which ye do [is] not good; ye will not so walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the Gentiles our enemies.

10 My fellow Jews and I and my servants have lent money and grain to people [without charging interest]. So you all should stop charging interest on these loans.

Both my brethren, and my acquaintances, and I, have lent them money and corn: let us now leave off this exaction.

11 Also, you must give back to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive tree orchards, and their houses that you have taken from them. You must also give back to them the interest that you charged them when they borrowed money, grain, wine, and [olive] oil from you, and you must do it today!”

Restore to them, I pray, as at this day, their fields, and their vineyards, and their olive-yards, and their houses, and bring forth to them corn and wine and oil of the money.

12 The leaders replied, “We will do what you have said. We will return to them everything that we forced them to give to us, and we will not require that they give us anything more.” Then I summoned the priests, and I forced the leaders to vow in front of them that they would do what they had promised to do.

And they said, We will restore, and we will not exact of them; we will do thus as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and bound them by oath to do according to this word.

13 I shook out the folds of my robe and said to them, “If you do not do what you have just now promised to do, I hope/desire that God will shake you like I am shaking my robe. He will take away your homes and everything else that you own.” They all replied, “Amen/May it be so!” And they praised Yahweh. Then they did what they had promised to do.

And I shook out my garment, and said, So may God shake out every man who shall not keep to this word, from his house, and from his labours, he shall be even thus shaken out, as an outcast and empty. And all the congregation said, Amen, and they praised the Lord: and the people did this thing.

14 I was appointed to be the governor of Judea in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was the king [of Persia]. For the next twelve years, until he had been ruling for almost 32 years, neither I nor my officials accepted [the money that we were allowed/entitled to receive to buy] food because of my being the governor.

From the day that he charged me to be their ruler in the land of Juda, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Arthasastha, twelve years, I and my brethren ate not [provision] extorted from them.

15 The men who were governors before I became the governor had burdened the people by requiring them to pay a lot of taxes. They had forced each person to pay to them 40 silver coins every day, in addition to giving food and wine to them. Even their servants/officials oppressed the people. But I did not do that, because I revered God.

But as for the former acts of extortion wherein [those who were] before me oppressed them, they even took of them their last money, forty didrachms for bread and wine; and the [very] outcasts of them exercised authority over the people: but I did not so, because of the fear of God.

16 I also continued to work on the wall, and I did not take land from people [who were unable to pay back the money that they had borrowed from me]. All those who worked for me joined me to work on the wall.

Also in the work of the wall I treated them not with rigor, I bought not land: and all that were gathered together [came] thither to the work.

17 Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.

And the Jews, to [the number of] a hundred and fifty men, besides those coming to us from the nations round about, [were] at my table.

18 Each day I [told my servants to] serve [us the meat from] one ox, six very good sheep, and chickens. And every ten days I gave them a large new supply of wine. But I knew that the people were burdened [by paying lots of taxes], so I did not accept [the money that I was entitled/allowed to receive to buy all this] food because of my being the governor.

And there came [to me] for one day one calf, and I had six choice sheep and a goat; and every ten days wine in abundance of all sorts: yet with these I required not the bread of extortion, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.

19 My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.

Remember me, O God, for good, [in] all that I have done to this people.