² Some of them were saying, “We have many children. We must get some grain if we are going to eat and stay alive.”

³ Other people were saying, “This is a time of famine. We have to use our fields, vineyards, and homes to pay for grain.”

⁴ And still other people were saying, “We have to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. But we cannot afford to pay, so we are borrowing money to pay the tax.