King James Version

1 And the cry of the people and their wives was great to their brothers, the Jews. 2 And there are some who say, "We are many, our sons and our daughters; let us take grain and eat, and we will live." 3 And there are some who say, "Our fields and our vineyards and our houses, we are guarding, and we will take grain in the famine." 4 And there are those who say, "To our lord, money for the measure of the king, our fields and our vineyards." 5 And now, as the flesh of our brothers is our flesh, as their children are our children, behold, we are enslaving our sons and our daughters, and there are among our daughters those who are being enslaved, and there is no power for us over our fields and our vineyards to another. 6 And I was very angry when I heard your cry and these words. 7 And my heart was filled with anger, and I spoke against the nobles and the officials, saying to them, "You are those who oppress your brothers." And I gathered a great assembly against them. 8 And I said to them, "We have bought our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations for our sake, and also you shall sell your brothers and they shall be sold to us." And they were silent and found nothing to say. 9 And I said, "It is not good the thing that you are doing. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to save yourselves from the reproach of the nations, our enemies?" 10 And I too, along with my young men, will leave behind the women and the silver; let us leave this burden. 11 Please return to them today their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, their houses, and a hundred pieces of silver and the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are giving them. 12 And they said, "We will return, and from them we will not seek; so we will do as you say." And I called the priests and I made them swear to do this matter. 13 Also, I have declared and said, "Thus God will shake every man who does not fulfill this matter from his house and his possessions, and thus he will be young and empty." And all the congregation said, "Amen," and they praised the Lord, and the people did according to this matter. 14 Also from the day that I was commanded to be governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, I and my brothers did not eat the bread of the governor. 15 And the lessors who were before me oppressed the people and took from them in bread and wine after forty shekels; also their young men ruled over the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God. 16 And also in the work of this wall I strengthened myself, and we did not buy a field, and all my young men were gathered there for the work. 17 And the Jews and the officials, a hundred and fifty men, and those coming to us from the nations that are around us, on the table. 18 And what was done for me on one day was one ox, six sheep, and birds were prepared for me, and within ten days, a great amount of wine; and with this, I did not ask for the bread of the governor because the work was heavy upon this people. 19 "My God, remember for me the good all that I have done for this people."