Nehemiah 5:11

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9 Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk ^ain the fear of our God ^bbecause of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this¹ usury!

11 Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”

12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.” Then I called the priests, ^aand required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.

13 Then ^aI shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. ^bThen the people did according to this promise.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

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Nehemiah 5:11

Also the hundredth part of the money - Houbigant contends,

1.That the word meath , which we and the Vulgate translate one hundredth part, never means so anywhere; and

2.That it would have answered no end to have remitted to people so distressed merely the one hundredth part of the money which had been taken from them by usury.

He understands meath as signifying the same as min eth , contracted into meeth , a preposition and demonstrative particle joined together, also a part From The money. Neither the Syriac, Septuagint, nor Arabic acknowledges this hundredth part. Some think that the hundredth part is that which they obliged the poor debtors to pay each month, which would amount to what we would call twelve per cent. interest for the money lent, or the debt contracted. See the introduction.

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