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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Nehemiah 5 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/nehemiah/5.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/nehemiah/5-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > Nehemiah 5</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../nehemiah/4.htm" title="Nehemiah 4">◄</a> Nehemiah 5 <a href="../nehemiah/6.htm" title="Nehemiah 6">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/nehemiah/5.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Nehemiah Helps the Poor</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children 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.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>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? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>“We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”</p><p class="reg">Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”</p><p class="reg">At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the <span class="name">Lord</span>. And the people did as they had promised.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="That is, about 1 pound or about 460 grams">a</a></sup></span> 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac I">b</a></sup></span> did not acquire any land.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>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.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">15</span> <span class="footnotebot">That is, about 1 pound or about 460 grams</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> <span class="footnotebot">Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac <i>I</i></span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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