Matthew Poole and continuators on Nehemiah 5:8

8 And I said unto them, We, after our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were [illegible: 1+ letters]old unto the heathen ; and will ye even [illegible: 1+ letters]ell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us ? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.

I, and my Brethren, and predecessors, have used our utmost Interest and Power, both with the Kings of Persia, that our Brethren might be redeemed from that bondage into which God had sold them for their [illegible: 1+ letters]ins; and with particular persons in Babylon, and Persia, and the adjacent parts, whose Bond-slaves the Jews were, and who would not part with them without a price, which we paid for them.

Do you expect that we should pay you a price for them, as we did to the Babylonians? Or, must we use as much importunity to solicite you for their Redemption, as we did to their Enemies?

Marginal references: Lev. 25. 48.