Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
Please give back to them today their lands, vineyards, olive groves, and houses. Also return the interest you've been charging them on the money, grain, wine, and oil you've lent them.
Nehemiah is demanding that wealthy Jews immediately return the property they've taken from their poor neighbors and stop charging them interest on loans.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls around 445 BC, when many poor Jews had mortgaged their property and even sold their children into slavery to survive economic hardship. Wealthy Jews were taking advantage of their struggling neighbors by charging interest and seizing property, which violated God's law about not charging interest to fellow Israelites.
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