Nehemiah 5:1
What does Nehemiah 5:1 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 5:1 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 5:1 means
This verse opens with a public outcry, not against foreigners but against “their brethren the Jews.” The problem is internal injustice. The mention of the wives heightens the seriousness; when households and mothers raise their voices, the distress has reached the family core. The people are not merely complaining; they are appealing for help because relationships within the covenant community have been violated. The cry signals that the rebuilding effort, though facing outer enemies, is being threatened from within by economic oppression. The verse teaches that God’s people can be harmed as much by unloving dealings among themselves as by outside hostility, and that such cries deserve a leader’s attentive, compassionate, and just response.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their countrymen the Jews.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And there is a great cry of the people and their wives, concerning their brethren the Jews,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Now there was a great cry of the people, and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
Context
Chapters 3–4 highlighted bold labor and resistance to external threats. Now the scene shifts to a crisis inside the community. Verse 1 introduces the central problem of chapter 5—social and economic oppression among fellow Jews. This sets the stage for Nehemiah’s investigation and correction. The details of the grievances follow in verses 2–5, giving substance to the cry. Understanding this internal complaint is essential, because it explains why Nehemiah must pause the building focus to address justice at home before progress on the wall can continue credibly.
v.1This passage
v.2For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain, that we may eat and live.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- James 5:4
Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
- Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry.
- 1 Corinthians 6:6
but brother goeth to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
- Leviticus 25:35
And if thy brother be waxed poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee.
- Acts 7:26
And the day following he appeared unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
- Exodus 22:25
If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
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