Nehemiah 5:2
What does Nehemiah 5:2 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 5:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 5:2 means
Here we hear the first specific grievance: large families are hungry. The people are not asking for luxury but for basic grain to survive. Their words reveal that the building project and the times of scarcity have strained resources. Many mouths to feed magnify the pressure, and the need is immediate—“that we may eat and live.” This exposes a gap between communal zeal for the wall and the practical provision for laborers’ households. The verse underscores that faithfulness to God’s work includes care for daily bread, and that community projects must not ignore the most vulnerable members whose survival is at stake.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain, that we may eat and live.
KJV
King James Version · 1611For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain, that we may eat and live.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949For there were some who said, We, our sons and our daughters, are a great number: let us get grain, so that we may have food for our needs.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862yea, there are who are saying, `Our sons, and our daughters, we--are many, and we receive corn, and eat, and live.'
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And there were some that said: Our sons and our daughters are very many: let us take up corn for the price of them, and let us eat and live.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many, and we must procure corn that we may eat and live.
Context
Following the general cry in verse 1, verse 2 begins listing concrete hardships. The first is simple lack of food for large families in a time of scarcity. Verses 3–5 will add layers—mortgaging property, tax debts, and even selling children into servitude. These cumulative details paint a dire picture that justifies Nehemiah’s strong reaction in verse 6. By tracking the complaints step by step, the narrative shows that the issue is systemic and multifaceted, not a single misfortune.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 41:57
And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was sore in all the earth.
- Psalms 128:2
For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
- Genesis 43:8
And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
- Malachi 2:2
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
- Psalms 127:3
Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah; Andthe fruit of the womb ishisreward.
- Genesis 42:2
And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
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