1 Around this time some people and their wives started a tremendous argument with the other Jews. 2 They were complaining, "Our families are so large we need more food5:2. "Food": literally, "grain." so we can eat and live." 3 Others added, "We’ve had to mortgage our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to buy food during the famine." 4 Still more said, "We’ve had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax. 5 Even though we are the same people as our creditors and though our children are the same as their children, yet we are going to have to turn our sons and daughters into slaves. In fact some of our daughters have already been enslaved,5:5. Girls that were sold could be taken as a wife by the buyer or for one of his sons. but we can’t do anything about it, because our fields and our vineyards are now owned by others."
6 I became very angry when I heard them protesting their grievances. 7 I thought it over and then I went to argue with the nobles and officials, telling them, "You are charging your own brothers interest!" So I called a large meeting to deal with them.
8 There I told them, "We have done as much as we can to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers as slaves! Are you expecting to sell them back to us?" They kept quiet because they couldn’t think of anything to say.
11 Give them back right now their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, along with the one percent interest on the money, grain, new wine, and olive oil that you have been charging them."
12 "We will give it back," they replied, "and we won’t demand anything more from them. We’ll do as you say." So I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials swear an oath that they’d do what they had promised.