Nehemiah 5:1-5

Christian Standard Bible

Social Injustice

5 There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen. ² Some were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.” ³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain during the famine.”^{(A) 4} Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax^(B) on our fields and vineyards.^{(C) 5} We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery.^(D) Some of our daughters are already enslaved,^(E) but we are powerless^[a] because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”