The verse highlights a heartbreaking irony: their oppressors are fellow Israelites, their brothers in faith. This makes the forced sale of their children into slavery not just an economic disaster, but a profound spiritual and familial betrayal, tearing apart the very fabric of community God intended for them.
Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The people of Jerusalem are facing severe hardship after returning from exile, with many falling into debt and poverty. This verse is part of a passionate outcry from the common people to Nehemiah, detailing how their own wealthy countrymen are exploiting them through high interest rates and seizing their land and livelihoods. The speakers are explaining that this crisis forces them to sell their children into slavery, a grievous act that tears at their very humanity and is happening because they've lost their ancestral farms to creditors.
The poor Jews in Nehemiah’s day faced crushing debt, leading them to sell their children. How did they frame this desperate situation?
The people crying out in Nehemiah 5:5 begin by highlighting a fundamental truth: shared humanity. They declare, 'our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children.' This isn't just about acknowledging common ancestry; it's a plea rooted in shared identity as God's people. They emphasize that they are of the same nation, the same religion, and possess the same natural affections for their children as the wealthy do.
Their point is sharp: if they are so fundamentally alike, why are they being treated so differently? The calamity of debt and famine should be a shared burden, not an opportunity for some to profit from the suffering of others. They are being forced to take extreme measures, selling their own children into servitude, while their 'brethren' (the wealthy elite) are making a gain from their distress.
Was selling children into slavery legal? And if so, why was it such a grave offense in this situation?
The text reveals a painful reality: selling children into servitude, particularly daughters, was permitted under certain circumstances by Mosaic Law (Exodus 21:7). However, the cry in Nehemiah 5:5 isn't just about the act of selling, but the compulsion and the context.
Ask a follow-up
The Priestly Law, in particular, offered protections and envisioned a society where such bondage wouldn't be necessary, pointing towards release in the Jubilee year. The complaint suggests the wealthy creditors were ignoring these principles and leveraging the law's permission for servitude in the most ruthless way.
Understand the original words
basar · Hebrew Noun
A term used to emphasize shared humanity, common ancestry, and the equality of persons before God, implying that treating a fellow Israelite as an inferior or slave violates the unity of the community.
ebed · Hebrew Noun/Verb
A state of forced labor and loss of personal autonomy; in the Old Testament, the enslavement of Israelites was strictly regulated and discouraged, as it contradicted their status as a people redeemed from slavery in Egypt.
This verse reveals a critical social breakdown within the post-exilic Jewish community. The very people God had restored were oppressing one another through usury and forced servitude, a stark contrast to the covenant principles of compassion and justice.
c. 538 BC
Return from Babylonian Exile
Following the decree of Cyrus the Great, many Jewish exiles began returning to Judah, initiating the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem.
c. 516 BC
Dedication of the Second Temple
The completion and dedication of the Second Temple marked a significant religious milestone for the returning exiles, but rebuilding the city and its walls remained a long process.
c. 445-433 BC— this verse
Nehemiah's Governorship and Reforms
Nehemiah returned to Judah as governor, facing opposition as he led the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and implemented social and economic reforms.
c. 445 BC
The Crisis of Debt and Enslavement
During Nehemiah's tenure, a severe economic crisis gripped the people, leading many to mortgage their lands and even sell their children into servitude due to high interest and crop failures.
This passage in the Law of Moses addresses the very practice mentioned in Nehemiah, allowing parents to sell their daughters into servitude, highlighting the legal, albeit harsh, context of the people's desperation.
Deuteronomy 15:12This law further elaborates on the treatment of Hebrew servants, including a provision for their release after six years, which underscores the grievance in Nehemiah: these people were being forced into perpetual servitude by their own countrymen who were exploiting their hardship.
Isaiah 58:6The prophet Isaiah describes God's desired 'fast' as loosening the chains of injustice and letting the oppressed go free, a stark contrast to the actions of the wealthy Jews in Nehemiah's day who were causing the very oppression Isaiah condemns.
Amos 8:4-6Amos fiercely denounces the wealthy oppressors who trample on the needy and exploit the poor for financial gain, mirroring the economic injustice and exploitation that Nehemiah's people were crying out against.
Matthew 18:25The parable of the unforgiving servant, where a vast debt is forgiven but the servant then shows no mercy to a debtor, powerfully illustrates the hypocrisy of the wealthy Jews who, having themselves been delivered from bondage, were now inflicting it on their own people.
clarkeNehemiah 5:5: "Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards."
We bring in to bondage our sons - The law permitted parents to sell their children in times of extreme necessity, Exodus 21:7 .
pulpitNehemiah 5:5: "Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards."
Verse 5. - Our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren. We love our own flesh and blood, poor as we are, just as much as do our richer brethren; our children are as dear to us as th…
The verse highlights a heartbreaking irony: their oppressors are fellow Israelites, their brothers in faith. This makes the forced sale of their children into slavery not just an economic disaster, but a profound spiritual and familial betrayal, tearing apart the very fabric of community God intended for them.
The people of Jerusalem are facing severe hardship after returning from exile, with many falling into debt and poverty. This verse is part of a passionate outcry from the common people to Nehemiah, detailing how their own wealthy countrymen are exploiting them through high interest rates and seizing their land and livelihoods. The speakers are explaining that this crisis forces them to sell their children into slavery, a grievous act that tears at their very humanity and is happening because they've lost their ancestral farms to creditors.
The people of Jerusalem are facing severe hardship after returning from exile, with many falling into debt and poverty. This verse is part of a passionate outcry from the common people to Nehemiah, detailing how their own wealthy countrymen are exploiting them through high interest rates and seizing their land and livelihoods. The speakers are explaining that this crisis forces them to sell their children into slavery, a grievous act that tears at their very humanity and is happening because they've lost their ancestral farms to creditors.
"Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for…" — The verse highlights a heartbreaking irony: their oppressors are fellow Israelites, their brothers in faith. This makes the forced sale of their children into slavery not just an economic disaster, b…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
