Nehemiah 5–6

Nehemiah Deals with Strife

5Now there was a great cry of distress of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. ²There were those who were saying, “Our sons and daughters, we are many. We must get grain so that we may eat and live.” ³There were also those saying, “We have pledged our fields and our vineyards and our houses so that we can get grain in the famine.” ⁴And there were those who were saying, “We have borrowed money on our fields and our vineyards for the tax of the king. ⁵Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our sons are like their sons. Look, we are subduing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and there are some from our daughters being molested. We are powerless,^a and our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶I was very angry when I heard their shouts and these words. ⁷I thought over this in my heart, and then I quarreled with the nobles and the prefects. I said to them, “You yourselves are taking interest from your own brother!” So I called the great assembly against them, ⁸and I said to them: “We ourselves have bought back our brothers the Jews who were sold to the nations as we were able. But now you yourselves have sold your brothers so they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.

⁹So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the disgrace from the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰Also, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please stop taking this interest. ¹¹Please restore to them this day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, their houses, and the interest on the money, the grain, the grape juice, and the olive oil that you have been taking from them.” ¹²So they said, “We will restore it and will not request anything more. So we will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made them take an oath to do this promise. ¹³I also shook out my garment and said, “This is how God will shake out everyone from his house who will not keep this promise. So this is how his possessions will be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised Yahweh, and the people kept this promise.

Nehemiah Denies His Allotment

¹⁴Moreover, from the appointed day I was made their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes—twelve years. My brothers and I did not eat the food allowance of the governor. ¹⁵The former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and they took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels. Also, their servants controlled the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God. ¹⁶I also devoted myself to the work of this wall, and we did not buy land. All of my servants were gathered for the work. ¹⁷One hundred and fifty men, prefects and Jews, and those who came to us from the nations around us, were at my table. ¹⁸Now what was prepared each day for me was one ox, six choice sheep, and birds. And every ten days all kinds of wine were made. But for this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor because the slavery was too heavy on this people. ¹⁹Remember me for good, my God, all that I have done for this people.

Enemies Foiled

6Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that no gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not erected doors in the gates— ²Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they planned to do evil to me. ³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I am not able to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you all?” ⁴And they sent a message to me four times like this, and I returned an answer like this to them. ⁵And Sanballat sent his servant with an open letter, another word like this to me a fifth time, in his hand. ⁶In it was written, “It has been reported among the nations, and Gashmu also is saying it, that you and the Jews are considering rebellion. Therefore, truly you are building the wall and you are becoming their king, according to these words. ⁷You have also set up prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now it will be proclaimed to the king according to these words. Now, come and we will plan together.” ⁸So I sent to him saying, “None of these words you have spoken has happened. You are indeed saying things created in your own mind”— ⁹for all of them sought to frighten us, saying, “their hands will not do the work.” And now, God, strengthen my hands.

¹⁰Now I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, and he said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill you—during the night they are coming to kill you.” ¹¹But I said, “Should a man like me run away? And would a man like me go into the temple so that he can save his life? I will not go in!” ¹²Then I looked and realized God had not sent him; rather, he had spoken the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³For this reason he was hired: to frighten me so that I would act and sin, so that they would have a bad report so they could taunt me. ¹⁴Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to their works, and also Noadiah the prophetess, and the remainder of the prophets who were frightening me.

The Wall is Completed

¹⁵So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶When our enemies heard of this, all of the nations surrounding us were afraid and lost their confidence.^a They knew that this work had been done with the help of our God. ¹⁷Also, in those days the nobles of Judah increasingly sent their letters to Tobiah, and letters from Tobiah returned to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jehohanan took as a wife the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. ¹⁹They also were speaking of his good deeds in my presence, and they were sending my words out to him. Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.