Nehemiah 5
5
Nehemiah Helps Some Poor People
1Some men and their wives cried out against their Jewish brothers and sisters. 2Some of them were saying, “There are now many of us. We have many sons and daughters. We have to get some grain so we can eat and stay alive.”
3Others were saying, “We’re being forced to sell our fields, vineyards and homes. We have to do it to buy grain. There isn’t enough food for everyone.”
4Still others were saying, “We’ve had to borrow money. We needed it to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5We belong to the same family lines as the rest of our people. Our children are as good as theirs. But we’ve had to sell them off as slaves. Some of our daughters have already been made slaves. But we can’t do anything about it. That’s because our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”
6I heard them when they cried out. And I was very angry when I heard what they were saying. 7I thought it over for a while. Then I accused the nobles and officials of breaking the law. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large group of people to handle the matter. 8I said, “Our Jewish brothers and sisters were sold to other nations. We’ve done everything we could to buy them back and bring them home. But look at what you are doing! You are actually selling your own people! Now we’ll have to buy them back too!” The people kept quiet. They couldn’t think of anything to say.
9So I continued, “What you are doing isn’t right. Shouldn’t you show respect for our God? Shouldn’t you live in a way that will keep our enemies from saying bad things about us? 10I’m lending the people money and grain. So are my relatives and my men. But we must stop charging interest! 11Give the people’s fields back to them. Give them back their vineyards, olive groves and houses. Do it right away. Give everything back to them. Also give them back the one percent on the money, grain, fresh wine and olive oil you have charged them.”
12“We’ll give it back,” they said. “And we won’t require anything more from them. We’ll do exactly as you say.”
Then I sent for the priests. I made the nobles and officials promise to do what they had said. 13I also shook out my pockets and emptied them. I said, “Someone might decide not to keep this promise they have made. If that happens, may God shake them out of their house! May he empty them of everything they own!”
The whole community said, “Amen.” They praised the Lord. And the leaders did what they had promised to do.
14And that’s not all. I was appointed as governor of Judah in the 20th year that Artaxerxes was king of Persia. I remained in that position until his 32nd year. During those 12 years, I and my relatives didn’t eat the food that was provided for my table. 15But there had been governors before me. They had put a heavy load on the people. They had taken a pound of silver from each of them. They had also taken food and wine from them. Their officials had acted like high and mighty rulers over them. But because of my great respect for God, I didn’t act like that. 16Instead, I spent all my time working on this wall. All my men were gathered there to work on it too. We didn’t receive any land for ourselves.
17Many people ate at my table. They included 150 Jews and officials. They also included leaders who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18Each day one ox, six of the best sheep and some birds were prepared for me. Every ten days plenty of wine of all kinds was brought in as well. In spite of all that, I never asked for the food that was provided for my table. That’s because the people were already paying too many taxes.
19You are my God. Please remember me and help me. Keep in mind everything I’ve done for these people.
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Nehemiah 5: NIrV
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Nehemiah 5
5
Social and Economic Problems. 1#5:1] Jer 34:8–22. Then there rose a great outcry of the people and their wives against certain of their Jewish kindred.#5:1] Certain of their Jewish kindred: probably Jews who had returned from Babylonia who formed the social and economic elite in the province. 2Some said: “We are forced to pawn our sons and daughters in order to get grain to eat that we may live.” 3Others said: “We are forced to pawn our fields, our vineyards, and our houses, that we may have grain during the famine.” 4Still others said: “To pay the king’s tax we have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards. 5#5:5] Ex 21:7; Lv 25:39. And though these are our own kindred, and our children are as good as theirs, we have had to reduce our sons and daughters to slavery, and violence has been done to some of our daughters! Yet we can do nothing about it, for our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
6I was extremely angry when I heard the reasons for their complaint. 7#5:7] Dt 23:20. After some deliberation, I called the nobles and magistrates to account, saying to them, “You are exacting interest from your own kindred!”#5:7] You are exacting interest from your own kindred!: contrary to the Mosaic law (Dt 23:20). I then rebuked them severely, 8#5:8] Lv 25:48. saying to them: “As far as we were able, we bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to Gentiles; you, however, are selling your own kindred, to have them bought back by us.” They remained silent, for they could find no answer. 9I continued: “What you are doing is not good. Should you not conduct yourselves out of fear of our God rather than fear of the reproach of our Gentile enemies? 10I myself, my kindred, and my attendants have lent the people money and grain without charge. Let us put an end to this usury! 11Return to them this very day their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, together with the interest on the money, the grain, the wine, and the oil that you have lent them.” 12They answered: “We will return everything and exact nothing further from them. We will do just what you ask.” Then I called for the priests to administer an oath to them that they would do as they had promised. 13I shook out the folds of my garment, saying, “Thus may God shake from home and fortune every man who fails to keep this promise, and may he thus be shaken out and emptied!” And the whole assembly answered, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. Then the people did as they had promised.
Nehemiah’s Record. 14Moreover, from the time that King Artaxerxes appointed me governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth to his thirty-second year—during these twelve years neither I nor my kindred lived off the governor’s food allowance. 15The earlier governors,#5:15] The earlier governors: both Sheshbazzar (Ezr 5:14) and Zerubbabel (Hg 1:1, 14; 2:2, 21) are said to be governors, and Mal 1:8 mentions a governor but does not name him. Other names are known from seal impressions of uncertain date. my predecessors, had laid a heavy burden on the people, taking from them each day forty silver shekels for their food; then, too, their attendants oppressed the people. But I, because I feared God, did not do this. 16In addition, though I had acquired no land of my own, I did my part in this work on the wall, and all my attendants were gathered there for the work. 17Though I set my table for a hundred and fifty persons, Jews and magistrates, as well as the neighboring Gentiles who came to us, 18and though the daily preparations were made at my expense—one ox, six choice sheep, poultry—besides all kinds of wine in abundance every ten days, despite this I did not claim the governor’s allowance, for the labor lay heavy upon this people. 19Keep in mind, my God, to my credit all that I did for this people.
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