Nehemiah 5:4

4 And others said, "We're having to borrow money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards.

Nehemiah 5:4 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 5:4

There were also that said
Who though they were able to buy corn for their families without mortgaging their estates: yet, say they,

we have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands
and vineyards;
for though the priests, Levites, and Nethinims, were exempted from it, yet not the people in common; and some of these were so poor, that they could not pay it without borrowing upon their estates, and paying large usury for it, see ( Ezra 6:8 ) ( 7:24 )

Nehemiah 5:4 In-Context

2 Some said, "We have big families, and we need food just to survive."

3 Others said, "We're having to mortgage our fields and vineyards and homes to get enough grain to keep from starving."

4 And others said, "We're having to borrow money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards.

5 Look: We're the same flesh and blood as our brothers here; our children are just as good as theirs. Yet here we are having to sell our children off as slaves - some of our daughters have already been sold - and we can't do anything about it because our fields and vineyards are owned by somebody else."

6 I got really angry when I heard their protest and complaints.