Nehemiah 5:2-5

2Some of them said, “We have large families! We need some grain ⌞if we are going⌟ to eat and stay alive.”

3Others said, “We’ve had to mortgage our fields, our vineyards, and our homes in order to get some grain because of this famine.”

4Others said, “We’ve had to borrow money to pay the king’s taxes on our fields and vineyards.

5We have the same flesh and blood as our relatives. Our children are just like theirs. Yet, we have to force our sons and daughters to become slaves. Some of our daughters have already become slaves. But we can’t do anything else when our fields and vineyards belong to others.”