Nehemiah 5

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 There was a great outcry from the people, and from their wives, against their brother Jews.	1 Now there was a great cry of the people, and of their wives against their brethren 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 some that said: Our sons and our daughters are very many: Yet us take up corn for the price of them, and let us 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 some that said: Let us mortgage our lands, and our vineyards, and our houses, and let us take corn because of 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 said: Let us borrow money for the king's tribute, and let us give up 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 our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren: and our children as their children. Behold we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters, and some of our daughters are bondwomen already, neither have we wherewith to redeem them, and our fields and our vineyards other men possess.
6 When I heard their complaints and these words I was very angry.	6 And I was exceedingly angry when I heard their cry according to these words.
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 thought with myself: and I rebuked the nobles and magistrates, and said to them: Do you every one exact usury of your brethren ? 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: We, as you know, have redeemed according to our ability our brethren the Jews, that were sold to the Gentiles: and will you then sell your brethren, for us to redeem them ? And they held their peace, and found not what 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 you do is not good: why walk you not in the fear of our God, that we be not exposed to the reproaches of the Gentiles our enemies?
10 I too, with my brothers and retainers, have lent them money and grain. Let us cancel these pledges.	10 Both I and my brethren, and my servants, have lent money and corn to many: let us all agree not to call for it again; let us forgive the debt that is owing 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 Restore ye to them this day their fields, and their vineyards, and their oliveyards, and their houses: and the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, which you mere wont to exact of them, give it rather for 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, and we will require nothing of them: and we will do as thou sayest. And I called the priests and took an oath of them, to do according to 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 my lap, and said: So may God shake every man that shall not accomplish this word, out of his house, and out of his labours, thus may he be shaken out, and become empty. And all the multitude said: Amen. And they praised God. And the people did according to 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 And from the day, in which the king commanded me to be governor in the land of Juda, from the twentieth year even to the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, for twelve years, I and my brethren did not eat the yearly allowance that was due 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 that had been before me, were chargeable to the people, and took of them in bread, and wine, and in money every day forty sides: and their officers also oppressed the people. But I did not so for the 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 Moreover I built in the work of the wall, and I bought no land, and all my servants were gathered together to 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 The Jews also and the magistrates to the number of one hundred and fifty men, were at my table, besides them that came to us from among the nations that were round about 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 And there was prepared for me day by day one ox, and six choice rams, besides fowls, and once in ten days I gave store of divers wines, and many other things: yet I did not require my yearly allowance as governor: for the people were very much impoverished.
19 To my credit, my God, remember all I have done for this people.	19 Remember me, O my God, for good according to all that I have done for this people.