Nehemiah 5:8

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וָאֹמְרָ֣ה va.'o.me.Rah	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular + paragogic he
ability	כְּדֵ֣י ke.Dei	H1767	enough (as noun or adverb) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
redeemed	קָ֠נִינוּ Ka.ni.nu	H7069	to erect · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural
brethren	אַחֵ֨ינוּ 'a.Chei.nu	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
Jews	הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים hai.ye.hu.Dim	H3064	a Jehudite (i.e. Judaite or Jew) · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
sold	הַנִּמְכָּרִ֤ים ha.nim.ka.Rim	H4376	to sell · definite article + verb, niphal active participle, masculine plural absolute
heathen	לַגּוֹיִם֙ la.go.Yim	H1471	a foreign nation · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
sell	תִּמְכְּר֥וּ tim.ke.Ru	H4376	to sell · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
brethren	אֲחֵיכֶ֖ם 'a.chei.Khem	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
sold	וְנִמְכְּרוּ ve.nim.ke.ru-	H4376	to sell · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
peace	וַֽיַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּ vai.ya.cha.Ri.shu	H2790	to scratch · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
found	מָצְא֖וּ ma.tze.'U	H4672	properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
nothing	דָּבָֽר da.Var	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Leviticus 25:47-49 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojour…
Exodus 21:16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief sha…
Job 29:10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
Job 32:15 They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking.
Matthew 22:12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Matthew 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took h…
Matthew 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:6-13

It should seem the foregoing complaint was made to Nehemiah at the time when he had his head and hands as full as possible of the public business about building the wall; yet, perceiving it to be just, he did not reject it because it was unseasonable; he did not chide the petitioners, nor fall into a passion with them, for disturbing him when they saw how much he had to do, a fault which men of business are too often guilty of; nor did he so much as adjourn the hearing of the cause or proceedings upon it till he had more leisure. The case called for speedy interposition, and therefore he applied himself immediately to the consideration of it, knowing that, let him build Jerusalem's walls eve…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 5:6

THE USURERS REBUKED. (Neh 5:6-19) I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words--When such disorders came to the knowledge of the governor, his honest indignation was roused against the perpetrators of the evil. Having summoned a public assembly, he denounced their conduct in terms of just severity. He contrasted it with his own in redeeming with his money some of the Jewish exiles who, through debt or otherwise, had lost their personal liberty in Babylon. He urged the rich creditors not only to abandon their illegal and oppressive system of usury, but to restore the fields and vineyards of the poor, so that a remedy might be put to an evil the introduction of which had led to muc…

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Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 5:7

Ye exact usury - This was expressly contrary to the law of God; and was doubly cruel at this time, when they were just returning out of the land of their captivity, and were suffering from the effects of a dearth. Some think that it was about the time of a Sabbatical year, when their land must have lain at rest without cultivation, and during which they were expressly commanded not to exact any debt. Deu 15:2. I set a great assembly against them - Brought all these delinquents before the rulers of the people.

Dictionary and topics

Jubilee — A joyful shout or clangour of trumpets, the name of the great semi-centennial festival of the Hebrews. It lasted for a year. During this year the land was to be fallow, and the Israelites were only…
Beneficence · .The Jews who returned from the exile — .The Jews who returned from the exile
Borrowing · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Country · LOVE OF — LOVE OF
Creditor · OPPRESSIONS OF — OPPRESSIONS OF
Creditors · Often cruel in exacting debts — Often cruel in exacting debts
Example · GOOD — GOOD
Interest · but not generally signifying unlawful or unjust rates) — but not generally signifying unlawful or unjust rates)
Kindness · .The Jews to the people — .The Jews to the people
Lending · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Rich, The · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Usury · Exaction of, rebuked — Exaction of, rebuked

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Nehemiah 5:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:6-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 5:6

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 5:7

Dictionary and topics

Nehemiah 5:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:6-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 5:6

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 5:7

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Nehemiah 5:8

Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 5:6-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 5:6-7

Rashi on Nehemiah 5:8