Nehemiah 5:13-15

International Standard Version

¹³ I also shook my robes,^[a] and said, “May God shake out every man from his house and his possessions who does not keep this promise. May he be emptied out and shaken just like this.”

All the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. And the people kept their promise.

Nehemiah Refuses the Governor’s Allotment

¹⁴ In addition, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah (that is, during the twelve years from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes), neither I nor my relatives relied on the provisions^[b] allotted to the governor. ¹⁵ Nevertheless, the former governors before me placed a heavy burden on the people. They received food and wine, plus a tax of^[c] 40 shekels^[d] of silver. Even their young men took advantage of the people, but I never did so because I feared God.