Nehemiah 5:13-15

Living Bible

¹³ And I invoked the curse of God upon any of them who refused.^[a]

“May God destroy your homes and livelihood if you fail to keep this promise,” I declared.

And all the people shouted, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the rich men did as they had promised.

¹⁴ I would like to mention that for the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth until the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—my aides and I accepted no salaries or other assistance from the people of Israel. ¹⁵ This was quite a contrast to the former governors who had demanded food and wine and $100 a day in cash, and had put the population at the mercy of their aides who tyrannized them; but I obeyed God and did not act that way.