Nehemiah 5:3

Nehemiah 5:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
• New International Version (NIV)Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)There were also those who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine."
• New King James Version (NKJV)There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

Context of Nehemiah 5:3

1Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. 2There were those who said, “With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain grain in order to eat and stay alive.” There were others who said, “We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine.” 4Then there were those who said, “We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king on our fields and our vineyards. 5And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.”

Nehemiah 5:3 word by word

וְיֵשׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֹמְרִ֔ים שְׂדֹתֵ֛ינוּ וּכְרָמֵ֥ינוּ וּבָתֵּ֖ינוּ אֲנַ֣חְנוּ עֹרְבִ֑ים וְנִקְחָ֥ה דָגָ֖ן בָּרָעָֽב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• also there wereיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• that saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We have mortgagedעָרַב‛ârab · to pledgeH6148
• our landsשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
• vineyardsכֶּרֶםkerem · vineyardH3754
• and housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• that we might buyלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• cornדָּגָןdâgân · grainH1715
• because of the dearthרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458

Cross-references for Nehemiah 5:3

• Genesis 47:15When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes because our money has run out?”
• Leviticus 25:35“‘If your brother becomes impoverished and is indebted to you, you must support him; he must live with you like a foreign resident.
• Deuteronomy 15:7If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition.
• Malachi 3:8Can a person rob God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions!

Commentaries on Nehemiah 5:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Because of the dearth - About the time of Zerubbabel, God had sent a judicial dearth upon the land, as we learn from Haggai, Haggai 1:9, etc., 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Some small landowners had mortgaged everything to survive. The famine worsened the problem because grain was scarce and food prices naturally rose.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 5:3

• Borrowing
• Country
• Covetousness
• Creditor
• Debt
• Debtor
• Homestead
• House
• Interest
• Land
• Lending
• Mortgage
• Poor
• Repentance
• Rich, the
• Tax
• Usury

In the dictionaries

• Jubilee
• Shake
• Famine
• Get; Getting
• Malachi
• Mortgage
• Poverty
• Salvation
• Surety
• Tax; Taxing

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