✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Nehemiah 5

KJV · Chapter 5/13

1And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

2For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.

3Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.

4There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.

5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

6And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.

7Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.

8And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.

9Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?

10I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.

11Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.

12Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.

13Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise.

14Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

15But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.

16Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.

17Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.

18Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.

19Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

While rebuilding the wall, the poorer Jews complain that they are being exploited by their own wealthy brothers, who charge interest and take their land and even their children as collateral for debts. Nehemiah confronts the nobles and demands they give everything back, setting the example of generosity himself.

Explanation

This chapter reveals a social crisis in the middle of the rebuilding crisis: while fighting external enemies, the Jews were being oppressed internally by their own elite, who charged interest forbidden by the Law of Moses and exploited the people's hunger during the work. Nehemiah reacts with righteous indignation, calls a public assembly, and forces the nobles to return the land and cancel the debts. He also points out that, as governor, he had a right to taxes and privileges he chose not to collect, out of fear of God and compassion for the burdened people. The central lesson is that leadership with integrity requires personal generosity and the courage to confront injustice even within one's own group.

Fun facts

  • The Law of Moses (in Exodus and Leviticus) explicitly forbade charging interest to fellow Israelites in hardship, making the nobles' practice a clear violation rather than merely a general ethical issue.
  • Nehemiah mentions that he supported more than 150 people at his table daily, at his own expense, without charging the people the 'governor's bread' that his predecessors had demanded — a detail that shows the high personal cost of his integrity.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Nehemiah 5:1In the middle of the work on the wall, a new problem arises, this time internal: a widespread uprising within the people themselves, with women openly complaining against fellow Jews.
  2. Nehemiah 5:2Some families complain that they are too numerous and have had to borrow grain just to survive, probably because the men were busy with the work instead of tending the land.
  3. Nehemiah 5:3Part of the people complain that they mortgaged lands, vineyards, and houses just to get grain during a famine, and on top of that still have to pay taxes to the Persian king. It is an economic crisis layered on top of the rebuilding, showing that internal poverty was just as urgent as the wall.
  4. Nehemiah 5:4Other families had even taken out heavy loans just to pay the taxes demanded by the Persian empire, mortgaging their lands and crops.
  5. Nehemiah 5:5The situation reached the point where families had to sell their own children as servants to pay off debts, while other, wealthier Jews kept their lands and vineyards.
  6. Nehemiah 5:6On hearing all this, Nehemiah becomes genuinely outraged — it is not the cold reaction of an administrator, but real anger in the face of injustice.
  7. Nehemiah 5:7Nehemiah becomes furious on learning that the Jewish nobles themselves were charging interest to their poorer brothers, something the law condemned among Israelites. He confronts the creditors publicly, in a large assembly, demanding that they return the lands and unjust charges.
  8. Nehemiah 5:8Nehemiah confronts the wealthy with a glaring contradiction: they themselves had helped redeem Jews enslaved by foreigners, yet now they were enslaving their own relatives over debt.
  9. Nehemiah 5:9He also points out the image problem: while the Jews exploited one another, the already hostile neighboring peoples had one more reason to mock them.
  10. Nehemiah 5:10Nehemiah admits that he and his own assistants had also lent money and grain, but proposes that everyone, including himself, stop charging interest.
  11. Nehemiah 5:11He demands an immediate solution: return the confiscated lands, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and cancel the interest charged on the loans.
  12. Nehemiah 5:12The wealthy agree to the proposal, but Nehemiah does not rely on their word alone: he makes a point of formalizing the commitment with an oath before the priests.
  13. Nehemiah 5:13Nehemiah reinforces the oath with a symbolic gesture, shaking out the fold of his own garment, as if saying that God should do the same to anyone who broke the promise.
  14. Nehemiah 5:14Unlike the previous governors, who charged an extra tax called the “bread of the governor” on top of what they already received from the king, Nehemiah gives up that privilege during the twelve years he governed. He explains this by his fear of God and by the already difficult situation of the people.
  15. Nehemiah 5:15Nehemiah recounts that the previous governors exploited the people by charging heavy fees, but he chose not to do the same, motivated by the reverence he had for God.
  16. Nehemiah 5:16He also avoids using his office to profit from land, and even puts his own personal staff to work directly on the wall.
  17. Nehemiah 5:17Nehemiah supported an enormous table out of his own pocket, feeding a hundred and fifty people, among Jewish leaders and visitors from other nations.
  18. Nehemiah 5:18Despite the enormous daily expense on food, he never charged the people the taxes he was entitled to collect as governor, precisely because he knew how much the people were already suffering.
  19. Nehemiah 5:19Nehemiah closes the chapter with a short, personal prayer, asking God to remember him for these deeds — a kind of prayer he repeats several times throughout the book.

Chapters

12345678910111213

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play