Nehemiah 5:7-13

5:7 I considered these things carefully ¹  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ²  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ³  from your own countrymen!” ⁴  Because of them I called for ⁵  a great public assembly. 5:8 I said to them, “To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews ⁶  who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, ⁷  so that we can then buy them back!” They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say.

5:9 Then I ⁸  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ⁹  Should you not conduct yourselves ¹⁰  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies? 5:10 Even I and my relatives ¹¹  and my associates ¹²  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ¹³  5:11 This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ¹⁴  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

5:12 They replied, “We will return these things, ¹⁵  and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials ¹⁶  swear to do what had been promised. ¹⁷  5:13 I also shook out my garment, ¹⁸  and I said, “In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out ¹⁹  this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!” All the assembly replied, “So be it!” and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. ²⁰ 

Job 31:13-25

31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants

or my female servants

when they disputed ²¹  with me,

31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; ²² 

when he intervenes, ²³ 

how will I respond to him?

31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? ²⁴ 

Did not the same one form us in the womb?

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ²⁵ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,

and did not share any of it with orphans ²⁶  –

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ²⁷  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ²⁸ 

I guided the widow! ²⁹ 

31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,

or a poor man without a coat,

31:20 whose heart did not bless me ³⁰ 

as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, ³¹ 

31:21 if I have raised my hand ³²  to vote against the orphan,

when I saw my support in the court, ³³ 

31:22 then ³⁴  let my arm fall from the shoulder, ³⁵ 

let my arm be broken off at the socket. ³⁶ 

31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, ³⁷ 

and by reason of his majesty ³⁸  I was powerless.

31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold

or said to pure gold,

‘You are my security!’

31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,

or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

Luke 3:12-14

3:12 Tax collectors ³⁹  also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 3:13 He told them, “Collect no more ⁴⁰  than you are required to.” ⁴¹  3:14 Then some soldiers ⁴²  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ⁴³  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ⁴⁴  or by false accusation, ⁴⁵  and be content with your pay.”

Luke 19:8

19:8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ⁴⁶  to the poor, and if ⁴⁷  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

James 5:4

5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

[5:7]  ¹ tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”

[5:7]  ² tn Heb “nobles.”

[5:7]  ³ tn Heb “taking a creditor’s debt.” The Hebrew noun מַשָּׁא (masha’) means “interest; debt” and probably refers to the collateral (pledge) collected by a creditor (HALOT 641-42 s.v.). This particular noun form appears only in Nehemiah (5:7, 10; 10:32); however, it is related to מַשָּׁאָה (masha’ah, “contractual loan; debt; collateral”) which appears elsewhere (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; cf. Neh 5:11). See the note on the word “people” at the end of v. 5. The BHS editors suggest emending the MT to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”), following several medieval Hebrew MSS; however, the result is not entirely clear: “you are bearing a burden, a man with his brothers.”

[5:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “I gave.”

[5:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “our brothers, the Jews.”

[5:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “your brothers.”

[5:9]  ⁸ tc The translation reads with the Qere and the ancient versions וָאוֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the MT Kethib, וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “not good.” The statement “The thing…is not good” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression which emphasizes the intended point (“The thing…is wrong!”) by negating its opposite.

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[should you not] walk.”

[5:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[5:10]  ¹² tn Heb “lads.”

[5:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “this debt.” This expression is a metonymy of association: “debt” refers to the seizure of the collateral of the debt.

[5:11]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads וּמְאַת (umÿ’at, “and the hundredth”) which is somewhat enigmatic. The BHS editors suggest emending to וּמַשַּׁאת (umasha’t, “and the debt”) which refers to the interest or collateral (pledge) seized by a creditor (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; see HALOT 641-42 s.v. מַשָּׁא). The term מַשַּׁאת (masha’t) is related to the noun מָשָּׁא (masha’, “debt”) in 5:7, 10.

[5:12]  ¹⁵ tn The words “these things” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “took an oath from them”; the referents (the wealthy and the officials, cf. v. 7) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “according to this word.”

[5:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my bosom.”

[5:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “cause to stand.”

[5:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “according to this word.”

[31:13]  ²¹ tn This construction is an adverbial clause using the temporal preposition, the infinitive from רִיב (riv, “contend”), and the suffix which is the subjective genitive.

[31:14]  ²² tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”

[31:14]  ²³ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”

[31:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “him,” but the plural pronoun has been used in the translation to indicate that the referent is the servants mentioned in v. 13 (since the previous “him” in v. 14 refers to God).

[31:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”

[31:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ²⁸ tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[31:20]  ³⁰ tn The MT has simply “if his loins did not bless me.” In the conditional clause this is another protasis. It means, “if I saw someone dying and if he did not thank me for clothing them.” It is Job’s way of saying that whenever he saw a need he met it, and he received his share of thanks – which prove his kindness. G. R. Driver has it “without his loins having blessed me,” taking “If…not” as an Aramaism, meaning “except” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 164f.).

[31:20]  ³¹ tn This clause is interpreted here as a subordinate clause to the first half of the verse. It could also be a separate clause: “was he not warmed…?”

[31:21]  ³² tn The expression “raised my hand” refers to a threatening manner or gesture in the court rather than a threat of physical violence in the street. Thus the words “to vote” are supplied in the translation to indicate the setting.

[31:21]  ³³ tn Heb “gate,” referring to the city gate where judicial decisions were rendered in the culture of the time. The translation uses the word “court” to indicate this to the modern reader, who might not associate a city gate complex with judicial functions.

[31:22]  ³⁴ sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.

[31:22]  ³⁵ tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, kÿtefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”

[31:22]  ³⁶ tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation – and there seems to be no convincing view – the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.

[31:23]  ³⁷ tc The LXX has “For the terror of God restrained me.” Several commentators changed it to “came upon me.” Driver had “The fear of God was burdensome.” I. Eitan suggested “The terror of God was mighty upon me” (“Two unknown verbs: etymological studies,” JBL 42 [1923]: 22-28). But the MT makes clear sense as it stands.

[31:23]  ³⁸ tn The form is וּמִשְּׂאֵתוֹ (umissÿ’eto); the preposition is causal. The form, from the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to raise; to lift high”), refers to God’s exalted person, his majesty (see Job 13:11).

[3:12]  ³⁹ sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked. Yet even they were moved by John’s call.

[3:13]  ⁴⁰ tn In the Greek text μηδὲν πλέον (mhden pleon, “no more”) is in an emphatic position.

[3:13]  ⁴¹ tn Or “than you are ordered to.”

[3:14]  ⁴² tn Grk “And soldiers.”

[3:14]  ⁴³ tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

[3:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

[3:14]  ⁴⁵ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.

[19:8]  ⁴⁶ sn Zacchaeus was a penitent man who resolved on the spot to act differently in the face of Jesus’ acceptance of him. In resolving to give half his possessions to the poor, Zacchaeus was not defending himself against the crowd’s charges and claiming to be righteous. Rather as a result of this meeting with Jesus, he was a changed individual. So Jesus could speak of salvation coming that day (v. 9) and of the lost being saved (v. 10).

[19:8]  ⁴⁷ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.