Nehemiah 5:3 Meaning and Explanation
“Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Others report mortgaging their fields, vineyards, and homes to buy grain during a famine.
What Does Nehemiah 5:3 Mean?
A second group has gone a step further into ruin. To buy food during a famine they have mortgaged the very ground that feeds them, their lands, vineyards, and houses. The dearth has forced families to stake their inheritance, the land God had given each tribe and clan as a lasting possession.
To mortgage the family land was to risk the loss of everything that anchored a household to the covenant promise. The text quietly exposes how need can drive the vulnerable into arrangements that deepen their bondage. God's heart through the Law leaned the other way, toward keeping families on their land and breaking the spiral of debt before it consumed them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nehemiah 5:3
What does Nehemiah 5:3 mean?
Others report mortgaging their fields, vineyards, and homes to buy grain during a famine.