| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. | 1Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. |
| 2They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” | 2There were those who said, "With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain grain in order to eat and stay alive." |
| 3Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” | 3There 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." |
| 4And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. | 4Then there were those who said, "We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king on our fields and our vineyards. |
| 5We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.” | 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." |
| 6When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. | 6I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. |
| 7After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem. | 7I considered these things carefully and then registered a complaint with the wealthy and the officials. I said to them, "Each one of you is seizing the collateral from your own countrymen!" Because of them I called for a great public assembly. |
| 8At the meeting I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense. | 8I said to them, "To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, so that we can then buy them back!" They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say. |
| 9Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? | 9Then I said, "The thing that you are doing is wrong! Should you not conduct yourselves in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies? |
| 10I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest. | 10Even I and my relatives and my associates are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! |
| 11You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.” | 11This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil." |
| 12They replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials swear to do what they had promised. | 12They replied, "We will return these things, and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say." Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials swear to do what had been promised. |
| 13I shook out the folds of my robe and said, “If you fail to keep your promise, may God shake you like this from your homes and from your property!” The whole assembly responded, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised. | 13I also shook out my garment, and I said, "In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!" All the assembly replied, "So be it!" and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. |
| 14For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes —neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. | 14From the day that I was appointed governor in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes--twelve years in all--neither I nor my relatives ate the food allotted to the governor. |
| 15The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way. | 15But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God. |
| 16I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. | 16I gave myself to the work on this wall, without even purchasing a field. All my associates were gathered there for the work. |
| 17I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! | 17There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, in addition to those who came to us from the nations all around us. |
| 18The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden. | 18Every day one ox, six select sheep, and some birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Despite all this I did not require the food allotted to the governor, for the work was demanding on this people. |
| 19Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it. | 19Please remember me for good, O my God, for all that I have done for this people. |
|
