As governor, Nehemiah faced an economic crisis (Neh 5). Non-landowners were short of food, landowners had to mortgage their properties, many were forced to borrow money at extremely high interest rates, and some were compelled to sell their children into slavery. While the Persian kings were kind when it came to matters of faith and local administration, they were quite severe when it came to money and taxation. Their economic policies led to inflationary conditions in which the rich got richer,