Open English Translation NEH Chapter 5

5 However around then, there was a widespread complaint from the people and their wives against what their fellow Jews were doing. 2 Some of them complained, “There’s a lot of us when we include our sons and daughters. We need grain so we can eat and stay alive.”

3 Others said, “We are mortgaging our fields and vineyards, and our houses so we can get grain during this famine.”

4 Yet others said, “We’ve borrowed silver to pay the tax on our fields and our vineyards that goes to the tribute to be paid to the foreign king. 5 We’re Jews just like our countrymen, but we’re having to commit our children into bondage as slaves—yes, even our daughters. Now we own nothing at all—not even our fields and vineyards.

6 I got very angry when I heard their complaints and desperation, 7 and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I protested to the nobles and the officials, “You guys are charging interest against your own countrymen.”[ref]

So I called for a gathering of all the people to deal with them, 8 and I told them, “Our brothers, the Jews, were sold to other countries as slaves and we’ve done all we can to bring them back here. But now even you yourselves are buying and selling your own countrymen to make a profit.” They couldn’t argue against that, so they were just silent.

9 “It’s not good what you’re doing,” I continued. “Shouldn’t you all respect and obey our God, because otherwise we’ll be despised by the other nations, our enemies. 10 I myself have lent them money and grain, as have my brothers and my young men, but please let’s forgo charging interest. 11 Please, even today, return their fields to them, and their vineyards and olive orchards, their houses, and the interest on the money and the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging against them.”

12 “Okay, we’ll do what you’re asking,” they responded. “We’ll return their property and we won’t impose any more charges on them.”

So I called the priests to witness those nobles and officials making an oath to do what they’d said they would do. 13 Also I shook the folds of my robe and told them, “May God shake you all out of his house like that, and shake every man’s business if he doesn’t do what he just promised—may he be shaken out like that and lose everything.”

14 Also, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the Yehudah region (for the twelve years from the Persian King Artahshashta’s 20th year until his 32nd year), I myself didn’t accept the governor’s food allowance, nor did my relatives. 15 The governors who preceded me had been very hard on the people—demanding bread and wine and forty silver coins. Even their servants oppressed the people. In contrast, I didn’t do that due to desire to honour God. 16 Also I remained focussed on rebuilding the wall, and we didn’t invest in a farm property, and all my servants also contributed to the work. 17 I regularly fed a hundred and fifty Jewish leaders and city officials, as well as visitors from other countries around us, 18 so in one day we needed one bull, six choice sheep, and various kinds of poultry, as well as various types of wines every ten days. I didn’t demand any of this from the people because it would have been a heavy burden for them.

19 My God, remember me for the good that I’ve done for these people.