Nehemiah 5:1–12

Nehemiah Deals with Oppression

5And there was a great ^aoutcry of the people and their wives against their ^bJewish brethren. ²For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”

³There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

⁴There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. ⁵Yet now ^cour flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we ^dare forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”

⁶And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, ^e“Each of you is ¹exacting usury from his brother.” So I ²called a great assembly against them. ⁸And I said to them, “According to our ability we have ^fredeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”

Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. ⁹Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk ^gin the fear of our God ^hbecause of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this ³usury! ¹¹Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”

¹²So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”

Then I called the priests, ⁱand required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.