Nehemiah / Chapter 5

Nehemiah 5

19 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The external threat gives way to an internal crisis: Jewish nobles and officials are exploiting their own people through predatory lending. Families are mortgaging fields, vineyards, and homes to buy grain during famine. Some have borrowed to pay the Persian royal tax and are now selling their own children into debt slavery. Nehemiah is furious. He confronts the nobles publicly, demands they stop charging interest and return confiscated property, and makes them swear an oath. He then describes his own conduct as governor: for twelve years he refused the governor's food allowance, bought no land, and fed over 150 people at his own table — all because 'the fear of God' governed his administration.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter interrupts the wall-building narrative with the revelation that the real threat to the community is not Sanballat but internal economic injustice. The Torah explicitly forbids charging interest to fellow Israelites (Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:35-37, Deuteronomy 23:19-20), and the selling of children into slavery violates the spirit of Jubilee legislation (Leviticus 25:39-43). Nehemiah does not merely issue a decree — he shames the nobles by contrasting their behavior with his own, using the 'fear of God' (yir'at Elohim) as the governing principle. His personal example of financial self-sacrifice is unparalleled among biblical governors. The great oath scene, with the shaking out of the garment fold (v. 13), is a dramatic enacted curse: may God shake out anyone who breaks this promise.

Translation Friction

The economic details reveal a complex situation. The famine (v. 3), the Persian tax burden (v. 4), and the concentration of land among wealthy creditors all contributed to the crisis. The phrase 'our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers' (v. 5) is an appeal to shared humanity and covenant kinship — these are not foreigners being enslaved but fellow Jews. Nehemiah's claim to have fed 150 people daily (v. 17) is extraordinary and implies either personal wealth or access to resources beyond the governor's allowance. The twelve-year timeframe (v. 14) indicates this memoir section reflects Nehemiah's entire first term, not just the wall-building period.

Connections

The prohibition against interest on loans to fellow Israelites appears in Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:35-37, and Deuteronomy 23:19-20. The debt-slavery crisis echoes Jeremiah 34, where King Zedekiah compelled slave release but the people reneged. The 'fear of God' as a governing principle connects to Abraham's explanation to Abimelech (Genesis 20:11) and to the midwives who defied Pharaoh (Exodus 1:17, 21). Nehemiah's self-restraint as governor contrasts sharply with Samuel's warning about what kings would take (1 Samuel 8:11-17).

Nehemiah 5:1

וַתְּהִ֨י צַעֲקַ֥ת הָעָ֛ם וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם גְּדוֹלָ֑ה אֶל־אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃

Now there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their own Jewish brothers.

KJV And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The tse'aqah ('outcry, cry of distress') is the same term used for Israel's cry under Egyptian oppression (Exodus 3:7, 9). The inclusion of 'their wives' (nesheihem) indicates that women were directly affected and vocally protesting — the crisis was hitting families at the household level. The complaint is directed at acheihem ha-yehudim ('their brothers, the Jews') — this is an intra-community injustice, making it doubly offensive.
Nehemiah 5:2

וְיֵשׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֹמְרִ֔ים בָּנֵ֥ינוּ וּבְנֹתֵ֖ינוּ אֲנַ֣חְנוּ רַבִּ֑ים וְנִקְחָ֥ה דָגָ֖ן וְנֹאכְלָ֥ה וְנִחְיֶֽה׃

Some were saying, "We have many sons and daughters. We need grain just to eat and survive."

KJV For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The first group identifies the basic problem: large families with insufficient food. The verb nichyeh ('that we may live') signals survival-level desperation, not luxury. These families need grain (dagan) for basic subsistence.
Nehemiah 5:3

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

Others said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during this famine."

KJV Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might get corn, because of the dearth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The second group has been forced to pledge their ancestral property — fields (sedot), vineyards (keramim), and houses (battim) — as collateral for food loans. The term orevim ('pledging, mortgaging') implies they will lose the property if they cannot repay. The ra'av ('famine') indicates a crop failure compounding the economic crisis. In Israelite theology, the land was God's gift to families — losing it meant losing one's covenant inheritance.
Nehemiah 5:4

וְיֵשׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֹמְרִ֔ים לָוִ֥ינוּ כֶ֖סֶף לְמִדַּ֣ת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ שְׂדֹתֵ֖ינוּ וּכְרָמֵֽינוּ׃

Still others said, "We have borrowed silver to pay the king's tax, using our fields and vineyards as security."

KJV There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The third group faces a different pressure: the Persian imperial tax (middat ha-melekh). They must pay in silver currency (kesef), not grain, which forces them into the cash economy where they are vulnerable to creditors. Their productive land — fields and vineyards — is collateral. The layering of all three complaints reveals a cascading economic crisis: famine drives food shortage, food shortage drives borrowing, borrowing drives land forfeiture, and imperial taxation accelerates the entire cycle.
Nehemiah 5:5

וְעַתָּ֗ה כִּבְשַׂ֤ר אַחֵ֨ינוּ֙ בְּשָׂרֵ֔נוּ כִּבְנֵיהֶ֖ם בָּנֵ֑ינוּ וְהִנֵּ֣ה אֲנַ֗חְנוּ כֹבְשִׁ֞ים אֶת־בָּנֵ֤ינוּ וְאֶת־בְּנֹתֵ֨ינוּ֙ לַעֲבָדִ֔ים וְיֵ֣שׁ מִבְּנֹתֵ֗ינוּ נִ֠כְבָּשׁ֠וֹת וְאֵ֤ין לְאֵל֙ יָדֵ֔נוּ וּשְׂדֹתֵ֥ינוּ וּכְרָמֵ֖ינוּ לַאֲחֵרִֽים׃

"Our bodies are the same as our brothers' bodies. Our children are the same as their children. Yet here we are, forcing our own sons and daughters into slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, and we are powerless to help — because our fields and vineyards belong to others."

KJV Yet 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 redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase kivshar acheinu besarenu ('our flesh is like our brothers' flesh') is a devastating argument: we share the same covenant identity, the same humanity — why should our children be slaves while theirs are free? The verb koveshim ('subduing, forcing into bondage') is the same verb used for conquest and domination (Genesis 1:28). Some daughters have already been sold (nikhbashot), and the parents ein le'el yadenu ('have no power in their hand') to redeem them. This is the lowest point: families permanently losing their children and their land.
Nehemiah 5:6

וַיִּ֥חַר לִ֖י מְאֹ֑ד כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר שָׁמַ֨עְתִּי֙ אֶת־זַעֲקָתָ֔ם וְאֵ֖ת הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃

I was furious when I heard their outcry and these charges.

KJV And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah's response — va-yichar li me'od ('it burned in me greatly') — is moral rage, not administrative annoyance. The same verb (charah) describes God's anger throughout the Hebrew Bible. Nehemiah hears the za'aqah ('outcry') — the same distress-cry vocabulary from verse 1 — and responds with the intensity the situation demands.
Nehemiah 5:7

וַיִּמָּלֵ֨ךְ לִבִּ֜י עָלַ֗י וָאָרִ֨יבָה֙ אֶת־הַחֹרִ֣ים וְאֶת־הַסְּגָנִ֔ים וָאֹמְרָ֣ה לָהֶ֔ם מַשָּׁ֥א אִישׁ־בְּאָחִ֖יו אַתֶּ֣ם נֹשְׁאִ֑ים וָאֶתֵּ֥ן עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם קְהִלָּ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה׃

I thought it through carefully, then confronted the nobles and officials. I said to them, "You are charging interest against your own brothers!" And I called a great assembly against them.

KJV Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase va-yimmalekh libbi alai ('my heart took counsel over me') shows Nehemiah deliberating before acting — he is angry but strategic. The accusation is direct: massa ish be-achiv ('a burden/loan-at-interest, each man against his brother'). The term massa here means an extractive loan or debt burden. Nehemiah escalates by convening a qehillah gedolah ('great assembly') — a public forum where the accused must answer before the entire community.
Nehemiah 5:8

וָאֹמְרָ֣ה לָהֶ֗ם אֲנַ֤חְנוּ קָנִ֨ינוּ֙ אֶת־אַחֵ֤ינוּ הַיְּהוּדִים֙ הַנִּמְכָּרִ֣ים לַגּוֹיִ֔ם כְּדֵ֣י בָ֑נוּ וְגַם־אַתֶּ֗ם תִּמְכְּר֤וּ אֶת־אֲחֵיכֶם֙ וְנִמְכְּרוּ־לָ֔נוּ וַיַּחֲרִ֕ישׁוּ וְלֹ֥א מָצְא֖וּ דָּבָֽר׃

I said to them, "We did everything we could to buy back our Jewish brothers who had been sold to the nations. And now you are selling your own brothers, so that they must be sold back to us?" They were silent. They had nothing to say.

KJV And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah's argument is devastating in its logic: the community had spent resources redeeming Jews sold into foreign slavery, and now the nobles were creating new slaves who would need redeeming again — a grotesque economic cycle. The silence of the accused (va-yacharishu) and their inability to answer (velo mats'u davar) is the text's way of recording a total rhetorical defeat. They have no defense.
Nehemiah 5:9

וָאֹמַ֕ר לֹא־ט֥וֹב הַדָּבָ֖ר אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֣ם עֹשִׂ֑ים הֲל֞וֹא בְּיִרְאַ֤ת אֱלֹהֵ֨ינוּ֙ תֵּלֵ֔כוּ מֵחֶרְפַּ֖ת הַגּוֹיִ֥ם אוֹיְבֵֽינוּ׃

I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to avoid the taunts of our enemy nations?"

KJV Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

יִרְאַת אֱלֹהֵינוּ yir'at Eloheinu
"the fear of our God" — reverence, awe, dread, piety, worship

Yir'ah ('fear, reverence') is the foundational ethical principle in Wisdom literature (Proverbs 1:7) and here serves as Nehemiah's governing standard for public behavior. The 'fear of God' is not terror but a deep awareness that God sees, judges, and holds leaders accountable. Nehemiah will use this same phrase to explain his own conduct as governor (v. 15).

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah makes two appeals: theological (yir'at Eloheinu, 'the fear of our God') and practical (cherpat ha-goyim, 'the reproach of the nations'). The nobles' behavior gives the surrounding enemy nations material for mockery — the very cherpah ('reproach, disgrace') that the broken walls represented (1:3, 2:17). Internal injustice undermines the external project of restoration.
Nehemiah 5:10

וְגַם־אֲנִ֧י אַחַ֛י וּנְעָרַ֖י נֹשִׁ֣ים בָּהֶ֑ם כֶּ֥סֶף וְדָגָ֖ן נַעַזְבָה־נָּ֥א אֶת־הַמַּשָּׁ֥א הַזֶּֽה׃

Even I, my brothers, and my workers have been lending them silver and grain. Let us stop this interest-bearing lending!

KJV I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah admits his own involvement in lending — though his loans may not have carried the same exploitative interest as the nobles'. By including himself in the corrective, he removes any ground for the accusation that he is exempting himself. The imperative na'azvah-na ('let us abandon, please') frames the demand as a collective decision rather than a unilateral decree.
Nehemiah 5:11

הָשִׁיבוּ֩ נָ֨א לָהֶ֜ם כְּהַיּ֗וֹם שְׂדֹתֵיהֶ֛ם כַּרְמֵיהֶ֥ם זֵיתֵיהֶ֖ם וּבָתֵּיהֶ֑ם וּמְאַ֨ת הַכֶּ֜סֶף וְהַדָּגָ֗ן הַתִּיר֤וֹשׁ וְהַיִּצְהָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַתֶּ֔ם נֹשִׁ֖ים בָּהֶֽם׃

Return to them today their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their homes — and also the percentage you have been charging on the silver, the grain, the new wine, and the oil.

KJV Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah demands immediate restitution (ke-ha-yom, 'as of today'). Four types of property must be returned: fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses. The me'at ('hundredth, percentage') likely refers to a monthly interest charge of one percent — which compounds to twelve percent annually, a ruinous rate for subsistence farmers. The four commodities — silver, grain, new wine (tirosh), and oil (yitshar) — represent the full economic spectrum of Judah's agricultural economy.
Nehemiah 5:12

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ נָשִׁ֗יב וּמֵהֶם֙ לֹ֣א נְבַקֵּ֔שׁ כֵּ֣ן נַעֲשֶׂ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר אַתָּ֣ה אוֹמֵ֑ר וָאֶקְרָא֙ אֶת־הַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים וָאַשְׁבִּיעֵ֕ם לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת כַּדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃

They said, "We will return the property and demand nothing more from them. We will do exactly as you say." So I summoned the priests and made the nobles swear an oath to carry out this commitment.

KJV Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The nobles' capitulation is immediate and complete: nashiv ('we will return'), lo nevaqesh ('we will not seek/demand'). Nehemiah does not trust verbal agreement alone — he summons priests (kohanim) to administer a formal oath (va-ashbi'em). The oath makes the commitment legally and theologically binding; to break it would be perjury before God.
Nehemiah 5:13

גַּם־חׇצְנִ֣י נָעַ֗רְתִּי וָאֹמְרָ֡ה כָּ֣כָה יְנַעֵ֪ר הָֽאֱלֹהִ֟ים אֶת־כׇּל־הָאִישׁ֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־יָקִ֜ים אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה מִבֵּיתוֹ֙ וּמִ֣יגִיע֔וֹ וְכָ֛כָה יִהְיֶ֥ה נָע֖וּר וָרֵ֑ק וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ כׇל־הַקָּהָ֜ל אָמֵ֗ן וַֽיְהַלְלוּ֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה וַיַּ֥עַשׂ הָעָ֖ם כַּדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃

I also shook out the fold of my robe and said, "May God shake out every man who does not keep this promise — shake him from his house and from his livelihood. May he be shaken out and emptied just like this." The whole assembly said "Amen" and praised the LORD. And the people carried out this commitment.

KJV Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah performs a dramatic enacted curse: he shakes out the chotsni ('fold of the robe,' the front garment fold used as a pocket or pouch) as a visual prophecy of what God will do to oath-breakers. The verb na'ar ('shake out') is repeated three times for emphasis. The assembly's response — amen and praise — indicates corporate ratification. The phrase va-ya'as ha-am ka-davar ha-zeh ('the people did according to this word') confirms compliance.
Nehemiah 5:14

גַּ֞ם מִיּ֣וֹם ׀ אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֣ה אֹתִ֗י לִהְי֣וֹת פֶּחָם֮ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ יְהוּדָה֒ מִשְּׁנַ֣ת עֶשְׂרִ֗ים וְעַד֙ שְׁנַ֣ת שְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים וּשְׁתַּ֨יִם֙ לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֣סְתְּא הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ שָׁנִ֖ים שְׁתֵּ֣ים עֶשְׂרֵ֑ה אֲנִ֣י וְאַחַ֔י לֶ֥חֶם הַפֶּ֖חָה לֹ֥א אָכַֽלְתִּי׃

Furthermore, from the day I was appointed governor in the land of Judah — from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years — neither I nor my brothers consumed the governor's food allowance.

KJV Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah now shifts to personal testimony. His tenure as governor (pechah) spans 445-433 BCE (year 20 to year 32 of Artaxerxes I). The 'governor's food allowance' (lechem ha-pechah) was a tax levied on the people to support the governor's household — a legitimate right that Nehemiah chose to forgo. This is a twelve-year record of financial self-restraint.
Nehemiah 5:15

וְהַפַּחוֹת֩ הָרִאשֹׁנִ֨ים אֲשֶׁר־לְפָנַ֜י הִכְבִּ֣ידוּ עַל־הָעָ֗ם וַיִּקְח֨וּ מֵהֶ֜ם בְּלֶ֤חֶם וָיַ֨יִן֙ אַחַ֗ר כֶּ֣סֶף שְׁקָלִ֣ים אַרְבָּעִ֔ים גַּ֥ם נַעֲרֵיהֶ֖ם שָׁלְט֣וּ עַל־הָעָ֑ם וַאֲנִ֛י לֹא־עָשִׂ֥יתִי כֵ֖ן מִפְּנֵ֥י יִרְאַ֥ת אֱלֹהִֽים׃

The previous governors before me had burdened the people heavily — taking food and wine from them, plus forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do this, because of the fear of God.

KJV But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah contrasts himself with his predecessors (ha-pachot ha-rishonim). Their exactions included food, wine, and forty silver shekels — a substantial sum. Worse, their servants (na'areihem) exercised arbitrary power (shaltu) over the populace. Nehemiah's reason for different behavior is theological: mippenei yir'at Elohim ('because of the fear of God'). This is not political calculation but conscience before God.
Nehemiah 5:16

וְ֠גַ֠ם בִּמְלֶ֜אכֶת הַחוֹמָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ הֶחֱזַ֔קְתִּי וְשָׂדֶ֖ה לֹ֣א קָנִ֑ינוּ וְכׇל־נְעָרַ֔י קְבוּצִ֥ים שָׁ֖ם עַל־הַמְּלָאכָֽה׃

I also devoted myself to the work on this wall. We acquired no land. All my workers were gathered there for the construction.

KJV Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Three further points of integrity: Nehemiah personally worked on the wall (hechezaqti, 'I strengthened/repaired'), he bought no land (sadeh lo qaninu) — refusing to exploit depressed property values during the crisis — and he directed all his servants to construction rather than personal profit. A governor with access to desperate sellers could have amassed a real estate empire; Nehemiah deliberately refused.
Nehemiah 5:17

וְהַיְּהוּדִ֨ים וְהַסְּגָנִ֜ים מֵאָ֧ה וַחֲמִשִּׁ֛ים אִ֖ישׁ וְהַבָּאִ֥ים אֵלֵ֛ינוּ מִן־הַגּוֹיִ֥ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר סְבִיבֹתֵ֑ינוּ עַל־שֻׁלְחָנִֽי׃

At my table there were a hundred and fifty Jewish officials, plus those who came to us from the surrounding nations.

KJV Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nehemiah's table fed at least 150 people daily — Jewish leaders (yehudim u-seganim) plus foreign visitors (ha-ba'im min ha-goyim). This was a massive household operation that Nehemiah funded without taxing the people. The foreign guests may have been diplomatic visitors or representatives from neighboring peoples — a governor's table served as both dining hall and negotiation space.
Nehemiah 5:18

וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר הָיָ֜ה נַעֲשֶׂ֣ה לְי֣וֹם אֶחָ֗ד שׁ֣וֹר אֶחָ֞ד צֹ֠אן שֵׁשׁ־בְּרֻר֤וֹת וְצִפֳּרִים֙ נַעֲשׂוּ־לִ֔י וּבֵ֨ין עֲשֶׂ֧רֶת יָמִ֛ים בְּכׇל־יַ֖יִן לְהַרְבֵּ֑ה וְעִם־זֶ֗ה לֶ֤חֶם הַפֶּחָה֙ לֹ֣א בִקַּ֔שְׁתִּי כִּֽי־כָבְדָ֥ה הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה עַל־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה׃

What was prepared for each day: one ox, six choice sheep, and poultry — all prepared for me — along with generous quantities of wine every ten days. Yet despite all this, I never demanded the governor's food allowance, because the burden on these people was already heavy.

KJV Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The daily provisions are lavish: one ox, six select sheep (tson shesh berurot, 'chosen/prime sheep'), and poultry (tsipporim). Wine was restocked every ten days. Nehemiah covered this enormous expense personally rather than taxing the people. His stated reason — ki kavedah ha-avodah al ha-am ha-zeh ('because the labor/burden was heavy on this people') — shows awareness that the wall construction, the military threat, and the economic crisis combined to create an unbearable load.
Nehemiah 5:19

זׇכְרָה־לִּ֥י אֱלֹהַ֖י לְטוֹבָ֑ה כֹּ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֖יתִי עַל־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה׃

Remember me favorably, my God, for all that I have done for this people.

KJV Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This is the first of Nehemiah's 'remember me' prayers (see also 13:14, 22, 31), a signature feature of his memoir. The verb zakar ('remember') is a covenant term — Nehemiah asks God to 'activate' his faithfulness in response to Nehemiah's conduct. The phrase letovah ('for good, favorably') is a request for divine acknowledgment, not a claim of merit. Nehemiah's entire governance record is presented as evidence — not to earn reward but to appeal for God's continued favor.
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