Nehemiah 5 · Verse 16

Nehemiah 5:16

Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
Nehemiah 5:16, King James Version

Nehemiah 5:16 in other translations

BSBInstead, I devoted myself to the construction of the wall, and all my servants were gathered there for the work; we did not acquire any land.
WEBYes, I also continued in the work of this wall. We didn’t buy any land. All my servants were gathered there to the work.
ASVYea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
YLTAnd also, in the work of this wall I have done mightily, even a field we have not bought, and all my servants are gathered there for the work;
DARBYYea, also I applied myself to this work of the wall, and we bought no fields; and all my servants were gathered thither for the work.
BBEAnd I kept on with the work of this wall, and we got no land for ourselves: and all my servants were helping with the work.
WebsterYea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither to the work.

What does Nehemiah 5:16 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 Neither bought we any land - Neither he nor his officers took any advantage of the necessities of the people, to buy their lands, etc. He even made his own servants to work at the wall.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Nehemiah 5:14-19

Those who truly fear God, will not dare to do any thing cruel or unjust. Let all who are in public places remember that they are so placed to do good, not to enrich themselves. Nehemiah mentions it to God in prayer, not as if he had merited any favour from God, but to show that he depended upon God only, to make up to him what he had lost and laid out for his honour. Nehemiah evidently spake and acted as one that…

Read the full comment on Nehemiah 5:14-19 →

Nehemiah 5:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְ֠גַםVe.gamand alsoH1571
בִּמְלֶ֜אכֶתbim.Le.kheton [the] work ofH4399
הַחוֹמָ֤הha.cho.Mahthe wallH2346
הַזֹּאת֙ha.zoT<the> thisH2063
הֶחֱזַ֔קְתִּיhe.che.Zak.tiI kept holdH2388
וְשָׂדֶ֖הve.sa.Dehand a fieldH7704
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
קָנִ֑ינוּka.Ni.nuwe acquiredH7069
וְכָל\־ve.kholand allH3605
נְעָרַ֔יne.'a.Raiservants myH5288
קְבוּצִ֥יםke.vu.Tzim[were] assembledH6908
שָׁ֖םshamthereH8033
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַמְּלָאכָֽה\׃ha.me.la.Khahthe workH4399

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Nehemiah 5:16

  • Galatians 6:9

    And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

  • 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6

    For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

  • 1 Corinthians 15:58

    Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

  • Acts 20:33-35

    I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

  • Philippians 2:20-21

    For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.

  • 2 Corinthians 12:16-18

    But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

  • Numbers 16:15

    And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

  • Romans 2:7

    To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

  • Luke 8:15

    But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I continued.
Lu 8:15; Ro 2:7; 1Co 15:58; Ga 6:9
neither bought.
Nu 16:15; Ac 20:33-35; 1Th 2:5,6
all my.
2Co 12:16-18; Php 2:20,21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Nehemiah 5:15

    But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.

  • Nehemiah 5:16

    Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.

  • Nehemiah 5:17

    Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.

Read all of Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah 5:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
También en la obra de este muro instauré mi parte, y no compramos heredad: y todos mis criados juntos estaban allí á la obra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et j’ai aussi tenu ferme, dans ce travail de la muraille, et nous n’avons acheté aucun champ, et tous mes jeunes hommes étaient rassemblés là pour l’ouvrage.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und auch an dem Werke dieser Mauer griff ich mit an; und wir kauften kein Feld; und alle meine Diener waren daselbst zum Werke versammelt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
quin potius in opere muri ædificavi, et agrum non emi, et omnes pueri mei congregati ad opus erant.