There were also some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain, because of the famine.” There were also some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute using our fields and our vineyards as collateral. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children as their children. Behold, we bring our sons and our daughters into bondage to be servants, and some of our daughters have been brought into bondage. It is also not in our power to help it, because other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
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Nehemiah 5:3-5 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews. For there were some who said, “We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain, that we may eat and live.” There were also some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain, because of the famine.” There were also some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute using our fields and our vineyards as collateral. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children as their children. Behold, we bring our sons and our daughters into bondage to be servants, and some of our daughters have been brought into bondage. It is also not in our power to help it, because other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
Parallel Translations
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There were also some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain, because of the famine.”
There were also some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute using our fields and our vineyards as collateral.
Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children as their children. Behold, we bring our sons and our daughters into bondage to be servants, and some of our daughters have been brought into bondage. It is also not in our power to help it, because other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
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Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.
Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
Show all 3 translations
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Some also there were that said: 'We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses; let us get corn, because of the dearth.'
There were also that said: 'We have borrowed money for the king's tribute upon our fields and our vineyards.
Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage already; neither is it in our power to help it; for other men have our fields and our vineyards.'
Cross-references (19)
- Ezra 4:13 (v4) Be it known now to the king that if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end…
- 2 Kings 4:1 (v5) Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead. You know that…
- Leviticus 25:35-39 (v3) “ ‘If your brother has become poor, and his hand can’t support himself among you, then you shall uphold him. He shall live with you like an…
- Leviticus 25:39-43 (v5) “ ‘If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you, you shall not make him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant, and…
- Genesis 37:27 (v5) Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to…
Show all 19 cross-references
- Ezra 4:20 (v4) There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll, was…
- Isaiah 58:7 (v5) Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that…
- Malachi 3:8-11 (v3) Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you…
- Genesis 29:14 (v5) Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” Jacob stayed with him for a month.
- Genesis 47:15-25 (v3) When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, “Give us bread,…
- Exodus 21:1-11 (v5) “Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them: “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh…
- Deuteronomy 15:7 (v3) If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you within any of your gates in your land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not…
- Deuteronomy 28:47-48 (v4) Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; therefore…
- Joshua 16:10 (v4) They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the territory of Ephraim to this day, and have become…
- 1 Kings 9:21 (v4) their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them Solomon raised a…
- Ezra 7:24 (v4) Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers,…
- Nehemiah 9:37 (v4) It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. Also they have power over our bodies and over our…
- Matthew 18:25 (v5) But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
- James 2:5-6 (v5) Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4–5 To pay our tribute to the king of the…
To pay our tribute to the king of the Persians, which was exacted yearly of us.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Neh 5:3 [Some] also there were that said, We…
Neh 5:3 [Some] also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
Ver. 3. We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, &c.] Lands they had, but were little the better for them. Husbandry they had neglected to give attendance upon buildings; neither were they able to stock and store their grounds, and so are forced to part with them at an underrate price. This is many a poor man’s case among us, who yet are little pitied, or relieved, unless it be with a little mouth mercy, as in St James’s days, Jas 2:15-16. Oppressors will be but as friends at a sneeze; the most you can get of them is, God bless you; like they are (many of them) to Darius, who prayed God to help Daniel, but sent him to the lions’ den.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Which might easily happen, both from the multitude of…
Which might easily happen, both from the multitude of the people now in and near Jerusalem, and from their building work, which wholly took them up, and kept them from taking care of their own families, and from the expectation and dread of their enemies’ invasion, which hindered them from going abroad to fetch in provision, and the people round about from bringing it in to them; or from divers other causes.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Some also there were that said, we have mortgaged…
Some also there were that said, we have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses,.... Made them over to others, put them into their hands as pledges for money received of them:
that we may buy corn; for the support of their families:
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because of the dearth; or famine; which might be occasioned by their enemies lying in wait and intercepting all provisions that might be brought to them; for this seems not to be the famine spoken of in Hag 1:10 for that was some years before this, and for a reason which now was not.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 The dearth - Which might happen, both from the…
The dearth - Which might happen, both from the multitude of the people in and near Jerusalem, from their work, which wholly took them up, and kept them from taking care of their families, and from the expectation of their enemies invasion, which hindered them from going abroad to fetch provision, and the people round about from bringing it to them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Verse 3. Because of the dearth.] About the time…
Verse 3. Because of the dearth.] About the time of Zerubbabel, God had sent a judicial dearth upon the land, as we learn from Haggai, Hag 1:9, c., for the people it seems were more intent on building houses for themselves than on rebuilding the house of the Lord: "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it is come to little because of mine house that is waste; and ye run, every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground brought forth; and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands." This dearth might have been continued, or its effects still felt; but it is more likely that there was a new dearth owing to the great number of people, for whose support the land that had been brought into cultivation was not sufficient.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Neh 5:3. Because of the dearth — Not long…
Neh 5:3. Because of the dearth — Not long before this, there had been a great scarcity of corn through want of rain, which God had withheld as a punishment for the people’s taking more care to build their own houses than his temple, as we read Hag 1:9-11. And, in this time of scarcity the rich had no compassion on their poor brethren, who were forced to part with all they had for bread. And this dearth was now increased, from the multitude of the people in and near Jerusalem; from their work, which wholly took them up, and kept them from taking care of their families; and from the expectation of their enemies’ invasion, which hindered them from going abroad to fetch provision, and the people round about from bringing it to them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–5 The king’s tribute - The tax payable to the…
The king’s tribute - The tax payable to the Persian monarch (compare Ezr 4:13; Est 10:1). In ancient times, heavy taxation was often productive of debt and distress.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Let us. Protestants, "We have mortgaged." --- Famine, or…
Let us. Protestants, "We have mortgaged." --- Famine, or "hunger." (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. Also there were — Another class higher than…
3. Also there were — Another class higher than those of Neh_5:2, for they were the owners of lands, vineyards, and houses. These had brought themselves into distress by mortgaging or pledging their property for food.
Because of the dearth — Literally, in the famine. This famine or scarcity may have been occasioned, not by a pestilence or barrenness of their lands, but because so many of the people had been called from their homes to labour on the wall, and thus had failed to sow and reap their fields. The neighbouring nations, also, being hostile towards them, would be likely to hinder the importation of provisions from a distance.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. Some also] The complaint in this verse is…
3. Some also] The complaint in this verse is that among the poorer classes, those who had a little property were compelled to mortgage it in order to obtain the bare necessaries of life.
We have mortgaged] R.V. We are mortgaging. The Hebrew verb expresses a state of things going on at the time.
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our lands, vineyards, and houses] R.V. our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses. ‘Fields’ is better than ‘lands,’ which is too large and general a word. The three words refer to the corn-fields, vineyards, and dwellings, such as the poorer householders might possess.
For the tenacity with which the possession of house or land was retained in a family, cf. 1 Kings 21. In the Hebrew these three words stand emphatically at the head of the sentence corresponding to ‘our sons and our daughters’ in the previous verse.
that we might buy corn] R.V. let us get corn. The words are the same as in the previous verse. They express not the purpose of the mortgage, but the resolve of the people to obtain food. By mortgaging their property they had lost the little capital they had. They had not the means to pay the interest on the mortgage as well as to obtain food for their families. The prospect before them was the final loss of property and starvation.
because of the dearth] This might be rendered ‘in the famine.’ But the sense is hardly different. It was necessary to obtain food in the time of scarcity because of the dearth. Cf. ‘through the famine,’ Gen_41:36.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 (3) Because of the dearth.—Not any particular famine, strictly…
(3) Because of the dearth.—Not any particular famine, strictly speaking, but their present hunger. The past mortgages had straitened their resources.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Because of the dearth. Some, who could not say…
Because of the dearth. Some, who could not say that their families were large, claimed relief on account, as it would seem, not so much of a present as of a past famine, which had forced them to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and houses. That Judaea was liable to famines about this time appears from Hag_1:6, 9-11 2:16-19.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v3 We have mortgaged our lands.
Neh_5:3-5
We have mortgaged our lands.
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The miseries of debt
I. Mental unrest.
II. Social degradation.
III. Family ruin.
IV. A disregard of a Divine command: Thou shalt not steal. Application--
1. Christians should set the world an example.
2. Watch the beginnings of extravagance.
3. In small things as well as in greater act on Christian principle. (Homiletic Commentary.)
The blessing and curse of mortgages
The history of the mortgage would be the history of the domestic, social, financial, political, and ecclesiastical progress of all ages. It will be useful if I can intelligently and practically speak of the mortgage as a blessing and as a curse. There is much absurd and wholesale denunciation of borrowing money. If I should request all those who have never asked a loan to rise, there would not out of this audience be one get up unless it were some one who had acted so badly at the start that he knew no one would trust him. At the inception of nearly all enterprises, great or small, a loan is necessary. Years ago an Irish man landed with fifty cents in his pocket on the Battery, asked the loan of one dollar from an entire stranger, and now is among the New York princes. A mortgage is merely borrowed strength of others to help us in crises of individual or national life on the promise that we will pay them for the help rendered. But what is true in secularities is more true in ecclesiastical affairs. If churches had not been built till all the money could be raised, tens of thousands of our best churches would never have been built, and millions of those who are now Christians on earth or saints in heaven would never have been comforted or saved. The old Collinss line of steamers went into bankruptcy, but that does not change the fact that they transported hundreds of passengers in safety across the sea; and if all the churches in Christendom to-morrow went down under the thump of the sheriffs hammer, that would not hinder the fact that they have already transported thousands into the kingdom, and have done a stupendous good that all earth and hell can never undo. All consider it right to borrow for a secular institution. Is it not right to borrow for a religious? It is safer to borrow for the Church than for any other institution, because other institutions die, but a Church seldom. When the Israelites of my text wanted to rebuild their homes, and wanted to borrow money for that purpose, the mortgagers did well to let them have it, though I wish they had not asked twelve per cent. But after a while the mortgage spoken of in the text ceased to be a blessing, and became a plague. It had helped them through a domestic and ecclesiastical crisis, but now they could carry it no longer, and they cried out for rescue. If a blessing lies too long, it gets to be a curse. At the first moment the farmer can get the mortgage off his farm, and the merchant the mortgage off his merchandise, and the citizen the mortgage off his home, and the charitable institution the mortgage off its asylum, and the religious society the mortgage off its church, they had better do it. I have heard people argue the advantage of individual debts and national debts and Church debts; but I could not, while the argument was going on, control my risibilities. It is said that such debts keep the individual and the Church and the State busy trying to pay them. No doubt of it. So rheumatism keeps the patient busy with arnica, and neuralgia keeps the patient busy with hartshorn, and the cough with lozenges, and the toothache with lotions; but that is no argument in favour of rheumatism, or neuralgia, or coughs, or toothache. Better, if possible, get rid of these things, and be busy with something else. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 Yet now our flesh and blood is the same…
Yet now our flesh and blood is the same as our brothers, and our children are the same as their children
Here the Jews are implying that they are of the same Jewish descent as the other Jews and that they of the same importance as the others. The meaning of this can be made clear. AT: "Yet our families are Jews just like the other Jew's families, and our children are just as important to us as their children are to them" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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our flesh and blood
This is an idiom which refers to their family members. AT: "our family" (See: Idiom)
Some of our daughters have already been enslaved
This can be stated in active form. AT: "We have already sold some of our daughters into slavery" (See: Active or Passive)
But it is not in our power to help it because other men now own our fields and our vineyards
Since the mens' fields and vineyards are not in their possession, they are unable to produce the money they need to support their families. The full meaning of this can be made clear. AT: "But we are unable to change this situation because other men now own our fields and our vineyards which we need to support our lives" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
it is not in our power
This is an idiom which means that they do not have the resources to do something. AT: "we are unable" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
king
tax
vineyard
flesh
brother
children
servant
power
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3–5 5:3 Some small landowners had mortgaged everything to survive.…
5:3 Some small landowners had mortgaged everything to survive. The famine made the problem worse because grain was scarce and the price of food naturally increased.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.