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13 I also [a]shook out the [b]front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; like this may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.

Nehemiah’s Example

14 Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my relatives have eaten the governor’s food allowance. 15 But the former governors who were [in office] before me put heavy burdens on the people and took food and wine from them in addition to forty shekels of silver [as an excessive monthly salary]; even their servants assumed authority over the people. But I did not do so because of the [reverent] fear of God.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 5:13 The folds of a robe over the chest formed a place where objects could be carried and protected, so Nehemiah’s gesture was a vivid illustration of the divine punishment he was invoking upon violators.
  2. Nehemiah 5:13 Lit bosom.

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