The
Word On Leadership: Half Full or Half Empty?
"Confrontation
in the Midst of Construction"
Nehemiah
5
NIV
Translation
Nehemiah
5
1
Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish
brothers.
2
Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order
for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain."
3
Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our
homes to get grain during the famine."
4
Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's
tax on our fields and vineyards.
5
Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though
our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters
to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are
powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others."
6
When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry.
7
I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I
told them, "You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!" So I called
together a large meeting to deal with them
8
and said: "As far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers
who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only
for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet, because they could find
nothing to say.
9
So 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?
10
I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain.
But let the exacting of usury stop!
11
Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and
houses, and also the usury you are charging them—the hundredth part of
the money, grain, new wine and oil."
12
"We will give it back," they said. "And we will not demand anything more
from them. We will do as you say." Then I summoned the priests and made
the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised.
13
I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake
out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise.
So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!" At this the whole assembly
said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
14
Moreover, 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.
15
But 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.
16
Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled
there for the work; we did not acquire any land.
17
Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as
well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations.
18
Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me,
and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of
all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the
demands were heavy on these people.
19
Remember me with favor, O my God, for all I have done for these people. |
Nehemiah
5
New
Living Translation
Nehemiah
5
1 About this time
some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow
Jews.
2 They were saying,
“We have such large families. We need more food to survive.”
3 Others said, “We
have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the
famine.”
4 And others said,
“We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes.
5 We belong to the
same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs.
Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to
live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to
do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged
to others.”
6 When I heard their
complaints, I was very angry.
7 After 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.
8 At the meeting
I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives
who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling
them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they
had nothing to say in their defense.
9 Then 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?
10 I 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.
11 You 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.”
12 They replied,
“We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people.
We will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and
officials swear to do what they had promised.
13 I shook out the
folds of my robe and said, “If you fail to keep your promise, may God shake
you like this from your homes and from your property!” The whole assembly
responded, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they
had promised.
14 For 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.
15 The 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.
16 I also devoted
myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required
all my servants to spend time working on the wall.
17 I asked for nothing,
even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all
the visitors from other lands!
18 The provisions
I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large
number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds
of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the
people already carried a heavy burden.
19 Remember, O my
God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it. |
Scripture taken from the
HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.
Scripture quotations marked
NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996,
2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189.
Scripture quotations are
taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189.
Unless otherwise indicated,
all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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