Nehemiah 5

1 Καὶ ἡ κραυγὴ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ γυναικῶν αὐτῶν μεγάλη πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτῶν τοὺς Ἰουδαίους.

2 Καὶ ἦσάν τινες λέγοντες, ἐν υἱοῖς ἡμῶν καὶ ἐν θυγατράσιν ἡμῶν ἡμεῖς πολλοὶ, καὶ λημψόμεθα σῖτον καὶ φαγόμεθα καὶ ζησόμεθα.

3 Καὶ εἰσί τινες λέγοντες, ἀγροὶ ἡμῶν καὶ ἀμπελῶνες ἡμῶν καὶ οἰκίαι ἡμῶν, ἡμεῖς διεγγυῶμεν καὶ ληψόμεθα σῖτον καὶ φαγόμεθα.

4 Καὶ εἰσί τινες λέγοντες, ἐδανεισάμεθα ἀργύριον εἰς φόρους τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀγροὶ ἡμῶν καὶ ἀμπελῶνες ἡμῶν καὶ οἰκίαι ἡμῶν.

5 Καὶ νῦν ὡς σὰρξ ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν, σὰρξ ἡμῶν· ὡς υἱοὶ αὐτῶν, υἱοὶ ἡμῶν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς καταδυναστεύομεν τοὺς υἱοὺς ἡμῶν καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας ἡμῶν εἰς δούλους, καὶ εἰσὶν ἀπὸ θυγατέρων ἡμῶν καταδυναστευόμεναι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι δύναμις χειρῶν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀγροὶ ἡμῶν καὶ ἀμπελῶνες ἡμῶν τοῖς ἐντίμοις.

6 Καὶ ἐλυπήθην σφόδρα καθὼς ἤκουσα τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς λόγους τούτους.

7 Καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο καρδία μου ἐπʼ ἐμέ· καὶ ἐμαχεσάμην πρὸς τους ἐντίμους καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας, καὶ εἶπα αὐτοῖς, ἀπαιτήσει ἀνὴρ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἃ ὑμεῖς ἀπαιτεῖτε; καὶ ἔδωκα ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἐκκλησίαν μεγάλην,

8 καὶ εἶπα αὐτοῖς, ἡμεῖς κεκτήμεθα τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν τοὺς Ἰουδαίους τοὺς πωλουμένους τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐν ἑκουσίῳ ἡμῶν· καὶ ὑμεῖς πωλεῖτε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ παραδοθήσονται ἡμῖν; καὶ ἡσύχασαν, καὶ οὐχ εὕροσαν λόγον.

9 Καὶ εἶπα, οὐκ ἀγαθὸς ὁ λόγος ὃν ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε· οὐχ οὕτως ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἀπελεύσεσθε ἀπὸ ὀνειδισμοῦ τῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν.

10 Καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου καὶ οἱ γνωστοί μου καὶ ἐγὼ ἐθήκαμεν αὐτοῖς ἀργύριον καὶ σῖτον· ἐγκατελίπωμεν δὴ τὴν ἀπαίτησιν ταύτην.

11 Ἐπιστρέψατε δὴ αὐτοῖς ὡς σήμερον ἀγροὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἀμπελῶνας αὐτῶν καὶ ἐλαιῶνας αὐτῶν καὶ οἰκίας αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀργυρίου τὸν σῖτον καὶ τὸν οἶνον καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον ἐξενέγκατε ἑαυτοῖς.

12 Καὶ εἶπαν, ἀποδώσομεν, καὶ παρʼ αὐτῶν οὐ ζητήσομεν, οὕτως ποιήσομεν καθὼς σὺ λέγεις· καὶ ἐκάλεσα τοὺς ἱερεῖς καὶ ὥρκισα αὐτοὺς ποιῆσαι ὡς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο.

13 Καὶ τὴν ἀναβολήν μου ἐξετίναξα, καὶ εἶπα, οὕτως ἐκτινάξαι ὁ Θεὸς πάντα ἄνδρα, ὃς οὐ στήσει τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ κόπου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται οὕτως ἐκτετιναγμένος καὶ κενός· καὶ εἶπε πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία, ἀμην· καὶ ᾔνεσαν τὸν Κύριον· καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ λαὸς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο.

14 Ἀπὸ ἡμέρας ἧς ἐνετείλατό μοι εἶναι εἰς ἄρχοντα αὐτῶν ἐν γῇ Ἰούδα, ἀπὸ ἔτους εἰκοστοῦ καὶ ἕως ἔτους τριακοστοῦ καὶ δευτέρου τῷ Ἀρθασασθὰ ἔτη δώδεκα, ἐγὼ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου βίαν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔφαγον.

15 Καὶ τὰς βίας τὰς πρώτας ἃς πρὸ ἐμοῦ ἐβάρυναν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐλάβοσαν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐν ἄρτοις καὶ ἐν οἴνῳ ἔσχατον ἀργύριον δίδραχμα τεσσαράκοντα· καὶ οἱ ἐκτετιναγμένοι αὐτῶν ἐξουσιάζονται ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν· κᾀγὼ οὐκ ἐποίησα οὕτως ἀπὸ προσώπου φόβου Θεοῦ.

16 Καὶ ἐν ἔργῳ τοῦ τείχους τούτων οὐκ ἐκράτησα, ἀγρὸν οὐκ ἐκτησάμην, καὶ πάντες οἱ συνηγμένοι ἐκεῖ ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον.

17 Καὶ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντα ἄνδρες, καὶ ἐρχόμενοι πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν κύκλῳ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τράπεζάν μου.

18 Καὶ ἦν γινόμενον εἰς ἡμέραν μίαν μόσχος εἷς, καὶ πρόβατα ἓξ ἐκλεκτὰ καὶ χίμαρος ἐγίνοντό μοι· καὶ ἀναμέσον δέκα ἡμερῶν ἐν πᾶσιν οἶνος τῷ πλήθει· καὶ σὺν τούτοις ἄρτους τῆς βίας οὐκ ἐζήτησα, ὅτι βαρεῖα ἡ δουλεία ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον.

19 Μνήσθητί μου ὁ Θεὸς εἰς ἀγαθὸν πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησα τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ.

1 And the cry of the people and their wives was great against their brethren the Jews.

2 And some said, We are numerous with our sons and our daughters; so we will take corn, and eat, and live.

3 And some said, As to our fields and vineyards and houses, let us pledge them , and we will take corn, and eat.

4 And some said, We have borrowed money for the king's tributes:—our fields, and our vineyards, and houses are pledged .

5 And now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children are as their children: yet, behold, we are reducing our sons and our daughters to slavery, and some of our daughters are enslaved: and there is no power of our hands, for our fields and our vineyards belong to the nobles.

6 And I was much grieved as I heard their cry and these words.

7 And my heart took counsel within me, and I contended against the nobles, and the princes, and I said to them, Should every man demand of his brother what ye demand? And I appointed against them a great assembly,

8 and I said to them, We of our free-will have redeemed our brethren the Jews that were sold to the Gentiles; and do ye sell your brethren? and shall they be delivered to us? And they were silent, and found no answer.

9 And I said, The thing which ye do is not good; ye will not so walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the Gentiles our enemies.

10 Both my brethren, and my acquaintances, and I, have lent them money and corn: let us now leave off this exaction.

11 Restore to them, I pray, as at this day, their fields, and their vineyards, and their olive-yards, and their houses, and bring forth to them corn and wine and oil of the money.

12 And they said, We will restore, and we will not exact of them; we will do thus as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and bound them by oath to do according to this word.

13 And I shook out my garment, and said, So may God shake out every man who shall not keep to this word, from his house, and from his labours, he shall be even thus shaken out, as an outcast and empty. And all the congregation said, Amen, and they praised the Lord: and the people did this thing.

14 From the day that he charged me to be their ruler in the land of Juda, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Arthasastha, twelve years, I and my brethren ate not provision extorted from them.

15 But as for the former acts of extortion wherein those who were before me oppressed them, they even took of them their last money, forty didrachms for bread and wine; and the very outcasts of them exercised authority over the people: but I did not so, because of the fear of God.

16 Also in the work of the wall I treated them not with rigour, I bought not land: and all that were gathered together came thither to the work.

17 And the Jews, to the number of a hundred and fifty men, besides those coming to us from the nations round about, were at my table.

18 And there came to me for one day one calf, and I had six choice sheep and a goat; and every ten days wine in abundance of all sorts: yet with these I required not the bread of extortion, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.

19 Remember me, O God, for good, in all that I have done to this people.