Nehemiah 5 - Summary

A great outcry arose from the common people against their wealthy Jewish brethren because famine had forced them to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and homes to buy grain, and they had borrowed money at interest to pay the king's tax, even selling their children into slavery while unable to redeem them. Nehemiah was very angry when he heard their complaints, confronted the nobles and officials for charging interest to their own brothers in violation of God's law, and convened a great assembly to condemn the practice, reminding them that they had been redeeming Jews sold to foreigners only to have their own people enslaved again. The nobles agreed to restore the fields, vineyards, olive orchards, houses, and the interest they had charged, and the priests administered an oath to that effect with a symbolic curse on any who broke the agreement; the chapter also records that throughout Nehemiah's twelve-year governorship, he and his servants did not eat the governor's food allowance because the previous burden on the people was already heavy, instead feeding 150 Jews and officials daily at his own expense, never acquiring land while devoting himself entirely to the wall work.