American Standard Version
Nehemiah 5:4
4There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon our fields and our vineyards.
Nehemiah 5:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.
- New International Version (NIV)Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards.
- New King James Version (NKJV)There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.
Context of Nehemiah 5:4
2For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain, that we may eat and live. 3Some also there were that said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses: let us get grain, because of the dearth. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon our fields and our vineyards. 5Yet 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. 6And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
Read all of Nehemiah 5Nehemiah 5:4 word by word
וְיֵשׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֹמְרִ֔ים לָוִ֥ינוּ כֶ֖סֶף לְמִדַּ֣ת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ שְׂדֹתֵ֖ינוּ וּכְרָמֵֽינוּ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Nehemiah 5:4
- Nehemiah 9:37And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
- Deuteronomy 28:47Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
- Joshua 16:10And they drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell in the midst of Ephraim unto this day, and are become servants to do taskwork.
- 1 Kings 9:21their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them did Solomon raise a levy of bondservants unto this day.
- Ezra 4:13Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful unto the kings.
Commentaries on Nehemiah 5:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4We have borrowed money - This should be read, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute on our lands and vineyards. They had a tax to pay to the Persian king in token of their subjection to him, and though it is not likely it was heavy, yet they were not able to pay it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The king‘s tribute - The tax payable to the Persian monarch (compare Ezra 4:13; Esther 10:1). In ancient times, heavy taxation was often productive of debt and distress.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4pay the king’s tax: Despite the famine, the Persians did not cancel the heavy royal taxes due at harvest time.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-51-5. there was a great cry of the people ... against their brethren--Such a crisis in the condition of the Jews in Jerusalem--fatigued with hard labor and harassed by the machinations of restless enemies, the majority of them poor, and the bright visions which hope had painted of pure happiness on their return to the land of their fathers being unrealized--must have been very trying to their faith and patience. But, in addition to these vexatious…Read the comment
Topics related to Nehemiah 5:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Nehemiah 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries