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.
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.”

Context of Nehemiah 5:3

1Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 2Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.” Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.” 4Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”

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 of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.”
• Leviticus 25:35“ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.
• Deuteronomy 15:7If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them.
• Malachi 3:8“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.

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