Nehemiah 5

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 There was a great outcry from the people, and from their wives, against their brother Jews.	1 And there occurred a great outcry of the people and their wives against their brothers, the Jews.
2 Some said, 'We are having to pledge our sons and daughters to get enough grain to eat and keep usalive.'	2 And there were those who were saying: “Our sons and our daughters are very many. Let us receive grain as a price for them, and then we may eat and live.”
3 Others said, 'We are having to mortgage our fields, our vineyards and our houses to get grain becauseof the shortage.'	3 And there were those who were saying: “Let us offer up our fields and vineyards, and our houses, and then we may receive grain during the famine.”
4 Stil others said, 'We have had to borrow money on our fields and our vineyards to pay the royal tax;	4 And others were saying: “Let us borrow money for the tribute of the king, and let us surrender our fields and vineyards.”
5 and though we belong to the same race as our brothers, and our children are as good as theirs, weshall have to sel our sons and our daughters into slavery; some of our daughters have been sold into slaveryalready. We can do nothing about it, since our fields and our vineyards now belong to others.'	5 “And now, as is the flesh of our brothers, so is our flesh; and as are their sons, so also are our sons. Behold, we have subjugated our sons and our daughters into servitude, and some of our daughters are slaves, nor do we have the ability to redeem them, for others possess our fields and our vineyards.”
6 When I heard their complaints and these words I was very angry.	6 And when I had heard their outcry in these words, I was exceedingly angry.
7 Having turned the matter over in my mind, I reprimanded the nobles and the officials as fol ows, 'Eachof you is imposing a burden on his brother.' Summoning a great assembly to deal with them,	7 And my heart considered within me. And I rebuked the nobles and the magistrates, and I said to them, “Have you each been exacting usury from your brothers?” And I gathered together a great assembly against them.
8 I said to them, 'To the best of our power, we have redeemed our brother Jews who were forced to selthemselves to foreigners, and now you in turn are sel ing your brothers, for them to be bought back by us!' Theywere silent and could find nothing to say.	8 And I said to them: “As you know, in accord with what was possible for us, we have redeemed our brothers, the Jews, who had been sold to the Gentiles. And yet you now sell your brothers, and we must redeem them?” And they were silent, nor did they find anything to answer.
9 'What you are doing', I went on, 'is wrong. Do you not want to walk in the fear of our God and escapethe sneers of the nations, our enemies?	9 And I said to them: “The thing that you are doing is not good. Why are you not walking in the fear of our God, so that there may be no reproach against us from our enemies, the Gentiles?
10 I too, with my brothers and retainers, have lent them money and grain. Let us cancel these pledges.	10 Both I and my brothers, with my servants, have lent money and grain to many. Let us agree not to ask for its return. Let us forgive the other money that is owed to us.
11 This very day return them their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, and cancelthe claim on the money, grain, new wine and olive oil, which you have lent them.'	11 On this day, restore their fields, and their vineyards, and their olive groves, and their houses to them. Then, too, the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, wine, and oil, which you usually exact from them, give it to them.”
12 'We shall make restitution,' they replied, 'we shal claim nothing more from them; we shal do as yousay.' Summoning the priests, I then made them swear to do as they had promised.	12 And they said: “We will restore it, and we will require nothing from them. And we will do just as you say.” And I called the priests, and I had them swear an oath, so that they would act in accord with what I had said.
13 Then, shaking out the fold of my garment, I said, 'May God thus shake out of house and possessionsanyone who does not make good this promise; may he be shaken out thus and left empty!' And the wholeassembly answered, 'Amen' and praised Yahweh. And the people kept this promise.	13 Moreover, I shook out my lap, and I said: “So may God shake out every man, who does not fulfill this word. From his house and from his labors, so may he be shaken out and become empty.” And the entire multitude said, “Amen.” And they praised God. Therefore, the people acted in accord with what was said.
14 What is more, from the time when the king appointed me to be their governor in Judah, from thetwentieth to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ever levied thegovernor's subsistence al owance,	14 Now from that day, on which the king had ordered me to be governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of king Artaxerxes, for twelve years, I and my brothers did not eat the yearly allowance that was owed to the governors.
15 whereas the former governors, my predecessors, had been a burden on the people, from whom theytook forty silver shekels a day for food and wine, while their attendants oppressed the people too. But I, fearingGod, never did this.	15 But the former governors, the ones who had been before me, were a burden to the people, and they took from them bread and wine, and forty shekels of money each day. And their officials also oppressed the people. But I did not do so, out of fear of God.
16 Also, not acquiring any land, I concentrated on the work of this wal and all my attendants joined in thework together, too.	16 In fact, I preferred to build in the work of the wall, and I bought no land, and all my servants were gathered to do the work.
17 Furthermore, magistrates and officials to the number of a hundred and fifty ate at my table, not tomention those who came to us from the surrounding nations.	17 Likewise, the Jews and the magistrates, one hundred and fifty men, were at my table, with those who came to us from among the Gentiles that are around us.
18 Every day, one ox, six fine sheep, as wel as poultry, were prepared for me; every ten days, skins ofwine were brought in bulk. But even so, I never claimed the governor's subsistence al owance, since the peoplealready had burden enough to bear.	18 Now there was prepared for me, on each day, one ox and six choice rams, along with poultry. And once every ten days, I distributed diverse wines and many other things. Yet I did not require my yearly allowance as governor. For the people were greatly impoverished.
19 To my credit, my God, remember all I have done for this people.	19 Remember me, O my God, for good, in accord with all that I have done for this people.