Nehemiah 5:12

12 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 from them, that they should do according to this promise.

Nehemiah 5:12 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 5:12

Then said they, we will restore them
The lands, vineyards, oliveyards, and houses:

and will require nothing of them;
not the hundredth part of the fruits of the earth by way of salary:

so will we do as thou sayest;
they approved of his proposal, and readily agreed to it:

then I called the priests, and took an oath of them that they should do
according to this promise;
not that the priests were delinquents, they were not charged with anything of this kind, nor were they the men that promised restitution; but the priests were called to administer the oath to the nobles, and rulers, and rich men, to oblige them the more to keep their word; an oath being sacred, priests in an holy office were made use of to give it, that it might be the more solemn, and the more strictly regarded.

Nehemiah 5:12 In-Context

10 I likewise, and my brethren and my servants, might exact from them money and corn; I pray you, let us leave off this usury.

11 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 from them."

12 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 from them, that they should do according to this promise.

13 Also I shook my lap, and said, "So God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who performeth not this promise; eventhus be he shaken out and emptied." And all the congregation said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

14 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.