Nehemiah 5:2-3

5:2 There were those who said, “With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain ¹  grain in order to eat and stay alive.” 5:3 There 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.”

Nehemiah 5:10

5:10 Even I and my relatives ²  and my associates ³  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ⁴ 

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¹ tn Heb “take” (so also in v. 3).

² tn Heb “brothers.”

³ tn Heb “lads.”

⁴ tn Heb “this debt.” This expression is a metonymy of association: “debt” refers to the seizure of the collateral of the debt.