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Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah confronts exploitation within Judah and shows how fear of God governs both the use of wealth and public office.

Jewish families cry out against fellow Jews who hold their land and take their children into bondage over debts. Famine and the king’s taxes have left them borrowing to survive. Nehemiah hears their complaints, confronts the nobles and rulers, and calls for the return of property and an end to interest charges. The creditors agree under oath. Nehemiah then recounts twelve years as governor, explaining how fear of God kept him from adding to the people’s burdens.

injustice and angerjob loss or money fearleadership weight
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1Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews.
2For there were some who said, “We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”
3There were also some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain, because of the famine.”
4There were also some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute using our fields and our vineyards as collateral.
5Yet 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.”
6I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
7Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, “You exact usury, everyone of his brother.” I held a great assembly against them.
8I said to them, “We, after our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Jews that were sold to the nations; and would you even sell your brothers, and should they be sold to us?” Then they held their peace, and found not a word to say.
9Also I said, “The thing that you do is not good. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?
10I likewise, my brothers and my servants, lend them money and grain. Please let us stop this usury.
11Please restore to them, even today, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, that you are charging them.”
12Then they said, “We will restore them, and will require nothing of them. We will do so, even as you say.” Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise.
13Also I shook out my lap, and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that doesn’t perform this promise; even may he be shaken out and emptied like this.” All the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. The people did according to this promise.
14Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bread of the governor.
15But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, plus forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants ruled over the people, but I didn’t do so, because of the fear of God.
16Yes, I also continued in the work of this wall. We didn’t buy any land. All my servants were gathered there to the work.
17Moreover there were at my table, of the Jews and the rulers, one hundred fifty men, in addition to those who came to us from among the nations that were around us.
18Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days a store of all sorts of wine. Yet for all this, I didn’t demand the governor’s pay, because the bondage was heavy on this people.
19Remember me, my God, for all the good that I have done for this people.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Nehemiah 5:15Nehemiah names fear of God as his reason for refusing the burdens that earlier governors placed on the people.
Nehemiah 5:19The closing prayer places Nehemiah’s costly service before God, whose notice he seeks after describing his care for the people.
Nehemiah 5:13Nehemiah’s symbolic warning binds the creditors’ promise to God’s judgment, and the people follow through on their pledge.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy share this chapter’s concern for impoverished Israelites, with commands about lending, interest, and the treatment of those in bondage. Isaiah shares its condemnation of oppression within God’s people and its call for concrete relief for those being harmed.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about the movement from the families’ complaint to the creditors’ action?

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Where might fear of God shape your use of money or authority in light of Nehemiah’s example?

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Questions people ask about Nehemiah 5

Why was Nehemiah angry in Nehemiah 5?

Nehemiah hears that families lack food, have mortgaged their property, and have brought their children into bondage. Fellow Jews are charging them interest while famine and royal taxes increase their need. His anger leads to reflection, a public confrontation, and a demand that the creditors return property and stop the charges.

What does “the bread of the governor” mean in Nehemiah 5?

The phrase refers to provisions supplied to support the governor’s office. Nehemiah contrasts his conduct with former governors who took food, wine, and silver from the people. Despite feeding a large table, he says he declined the governor’s pay because the people already bore a heavy burden.

Why did Nehemiah shake out his lap?

After the creditors promise restitution and swear an oath, Nehemiah shakes out the fold of his garment as a visible warning. He asks that God likewise empty out anyone who breaks the promise, removing that person from house and labor. The assembly affirms the warning, and the people keep their promise.

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Nehemiah · 13 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).