Nehemiah 5:4-10
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 5
4There also were those who said, 'We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5And now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.'
6Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, 'You are lending at interest, each to his brother!' Therefore, I held a great assembly against them.
8And I said to them, 'We, according to our ability, have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?' Then they were silent and could not find a word to say.
9So I said, 'The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the taunting of the nations, our enemies?
10And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s do without this interest.
King James Version
Chapter 5
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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 5
4Still others were saying, "We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless because our fields and vineyards belong to others."
6I became extremely angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints.
7After seriously considering the matter, I accused the nobles and officials, saying to them, "Each of you is charging his countrymen interest." So I called a large assembly against them
8and said, "We have done our best to buy back our Jewish countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them back." They remained silent and could not say a word.
9Then I said, "What you are doing isn’t right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God and not invite the reproach of our foreign enemies?
10Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop charging this interest.
New Living Translation
Chapter 5
4And others said, 'We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. 5We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.'
6When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.
7After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, 'You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!' Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.
9Then I pressed further, 'What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations?
10I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest.
English Standard Version
Chapter 5
4And there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king 's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards."
6I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, "You are exacting interest, each from his brother." And I held a great assembly against them
8and said to them, "We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that 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. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
10Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.
New International Version
Chapter 5
4Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others."
6When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry.
7I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, "You are charging your own people interest!" So I called together a large meeting to deal with them
8and said: "As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
New King James Version
Chapter 5
4There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. 5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are 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, “Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.” So I called a great assembly against them.
8And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed 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 in the fear of our God because 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 usury!
