Nehemiah 5:5-17
New American Standard Bible
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.
11Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.'
12Then they said, 'We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.' So I called the priests and made them take an oath to act in accordance with this promise.
13I also shook out the front of my garment and said, 'So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.' And all the assembly said, 'Amen!' And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.
14Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.
15But the previous governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of my fear of God.
16I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
17Moreover, there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
King James Version
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 labor, 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 bore 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.
Christian Standard Bible
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.
11Return their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses to them immediately, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and fresh oil that you have been assessing them."
14Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah—from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, twelve years —I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor.
15The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them food and wine as well as a pound of silver. Their subordinates also oppressed the people, but because of the fear of God, I didn’t do this.
16Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of this wall, and all my subordinates were gathered there for the work. We didn’t buy any land.
New Living Translation
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.
11You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.'
14For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah — from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes — neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance.
15The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.
English Standard Version
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.
11Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them."
12Then they said, "We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say." And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.
13I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, "So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said "Amen" and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
14Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
15The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
16I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
17Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
New International Version
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.
9So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?
10I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest!
11Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil."
14Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.
15But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.
16Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.
New King James Version
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!
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.”
14Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions.
15But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
16Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.