Nehemiah 5:4
in Nehemiah 5Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon our fields and our vineyards.
KJV
There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThere 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 Ezr 6:8.
This site's exposition
We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax
on Nehemiah 5:4-5
A third group has borrowed against their land "to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards," a tax none could refuse. Some daughters are already gone, with no power left to redeem them. Lender and borrower share one blood and one covenant, the ground of Nehemiah's coming charge.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The straits of poor housekeepers who make hard shift to get an honest livelihood, and sometimes want what is fitting for them and their families, are well worthy the compassionate consideration of those who either with their wealth or with their power are in a capacity to help them.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
We have borrowed money - This should be read, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute on our lands and vineyards. They had a tax to pay to the Persian king in token of their subjection to him, and though it is not likely it was heavy, yet they were not able to pay it.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The condition of the poorer inhabitants was indeed deplorable; for, besides the deficient harvests caused by the great rains (Ezr 10:9; also Hag 1:6-11), a dearth was now threatened by the enemy keeping such a multitude pent up in the city, and preventing the country people bringing in provisions.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The king’s tribute - The tax payable to the Persian monarch (compare Ezr 4:13; Est 10:1). In ancient times, heavy taxation was often productive of debt and distress.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיֵשׁ֙ | veyesh | and there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | [were those] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֹמְרִ֔ים | ʾomerim | [were] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָוִ֥ינוּ | lavinu | we have borrowed | H3867 → | |
| כֶ֖סֶף | khesef | money | H3701 → | 403 times |
| לְמִדַּ֣ת | lemidat | for [the] tribute of | H4060 → | 55 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׂדֹתֵ֖ינוּ | sedoteinu | fields our | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וּכְרָמֵֽינוּ׃ | ukherameinu | and vineyards our | H3754 → | 92 times |
וְיֵשׁ֙and there
veyeshH3426 →140 times
אֲשֶׁ֣ר[were those] who
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֹמְרִ֔ים[were] saying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
לָוִ֥ינוּwe have borrowed
lavinuH3867 →
כֶ֖סֶףmoney
khesefH3701 →403 times
לְמִדַּ֣תfor [the] tribute of
lemidatH4060 →55 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׂדֹתֵ֖ינוּfields our
sedoteinuH7704 →334 times
וּכְרָמֵֽינוּ׃and vineyards our
ukherameinuH3754 →92 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezra 4:13Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.
it leads to
- Ezra 7:24
And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 7:24
Through
Joshua 16:10But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.
it leads to
- Judges 1:29
Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.
- Deuteronomy 7:1–2
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations…
- Joshua 17:13
However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely.
- 1 Kings 9:16
Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
- Judges 1:29
Through
Ezra 4:20And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- 1 Kings 4:21
And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of…
- Psalms 72:8
May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- Genesis 15:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Nehemiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
