About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews.
- KJV And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
- NKJV And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.
- NASB Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
- NLT About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A great outcry arises among the poorer Jews against their wealthier fellow Jews. Internal injustice now threatens the community from within.
Overview
With the external threat momentarily checked, a new crisis erupts: economic oppression among God's own people. The "great cry" recalls Israel's cry under Egyptian bondage, signaling serious injustice. This shows that sin within the covenant community can be as dangerous as enemies outside it, and it sets up Nehemiah's call to reform.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
- Deut 15:7–11If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.
- Job 31:38–39if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,
- Jas 5:4Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Exod 3:7The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Luke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- 1 Cor 6:6–8Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!
- Exod 22:25–27If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.
- Job 34:28They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.
- Acts 7:26The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
- Lev 25:35–37Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.