Nehemiah 9:37

Neh 9:37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we [are] in great distress.

Ver. 37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings] As this land once did unto the king of locusts; when it was styled the pope’s hortus deliciarum, garden of delights, out of which he could fetch what money or anything else he pleased, so long as he could hold a pen in his hand. In the year 720, John, king of West Saxons, caused in all his dominion, in every house having a chimney, a penny to be collected and paid to the bishop of Rome, in the name of St Peter; and thereof were they called Peter pence. These continued till Henry VIII’s time; who, in his protestation against the pope, speaketh thus: England is no more a babe; there is no man here but now he knows that they do foolishly that give gold for lead, more weight of that than they receive of this, &c.

Also they have dominion] {See Trapp on "Neh 9:30"}

At their pleasure] Their will was a law; which to argue or debate was high misdemeanour; to detract or disobey, present death.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 9:37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings, &c. — We plough, and sow, and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our endeavours; and yet in a great measure this is not for ourselves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay heavy tributes. Also they have dominion over our bodies — Which are liable to be pressed, to serve in the king’s wars, or in his works. And over our cattle at their pleasure — Our cattle are liable to be made use of, when there is occasion to employ them about the king’s business. And we are in great distress — Though we are permitted to live by our own laws, which we account a great privilege, yet we lie under these public burdens, and are compelled to bear them. Thus, as Mr. Peters observes, this prayer contains a beautiful epitome of the history of the Jews, raised and animated by a spirit of devotion, which appears in all that moving eloquence so well suited to the great occasion; and, at the same time, with all that chasteness and correctness of thought and expression, which so eminently distinguish the sacred writings of this sort from all merely human compositions.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins--Our agricultural labors have been resumed in the land--we plough, and sow, and till, and Thou blessest the work of our hands with a plentiful return; but this increase is not for ourselves, as once it was, but for our foreign masters, to whom we have to pay large and oppressive tribute.

they have dominion over our bodies--Their persons were liable to be pressed, at the mandate of their Assyrian conqueror, into the service of his empire, either in war or in public works. And our beasts are taken to do their pleasure.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 37. It yieldeth much increase unto the kings] Good and fruitful as the land is, yet it profits us little; as the chief profits on all things go to the kings of Persia.

Over our bodies] Exacting personal and feudal services from us, and from our cattle; and this not by any fixed rate, or rule, of so much rent, so much labour, or boons; but at their pleasure; so that we can neither call our persons, our time, our land, nor our cattle, our own: therefore we are in great distress. Miserable are the people that live under such a government. Think of this, ye Britons! think of your liberties and rights. Compare them with any other nation under heaven, and see what a balance is in your favour. Almost all the nations of the earth acknowledge Britons the most happy of all men. May I not say,

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint!

"How exceedingly happy would you be, could

you but consider your many advantages!"

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(37) Yieldeth much increase.—In money and kind a very large amount was sent by Syria to the Persian treasury.

Over our bodies, and over our cattle.—For military service; but the priests do not omit themselves.

In great distress.—Not so much under the Persian yoke as in the remembrance of God’s judgments. The pathetic comparison between the Divine purpose in giving the land originally and their present bondage in it extends almost to every word.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. yieldeth much increase] Literally ‘its produce it maketh in abundance.’ The allusion is to the pressure of the tribute exacted for the Persian revenue. Cf. Neh_5:4. See Rawlinson’s Ancient Monarchies, vol. III., pp. 421–423.

‘Besides money payments ‘a payment … had to be made in kind, each province being required to furnish that commodity, or those commodities, for which it was most celebrated.… While the claims of the crown upon its subjects were definite and could not be exceeded, the satrap was at liberty to make any exactions that he pleased beyond them.… Like a Roman proconsul, he was to pay himself out of the pockets of his subjects; and, like that class of persons, he took care to pay himself highly.’

dominion] R.V. authority. Cf. Deu_28:33, ‘The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labours shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up.’ Isa_26:13, ‘O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us.’

we are in great distress] We must remember that this language of complaint at the severity of the foreign rule and exactions is not the utterance of Nehemiah the king’s minister. This portion of the book is not Nehemiah’s writing. The words are spoken not by Nehemiah but by Ezra, or by the Levites. The contents of chap. 5 show that the effects of the foreign taxation upon the condition of the middle and lower classes were felt very acutely.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us, because of our sins,.... Though a very fruitful land, and brought forth much, yet not for them, but for foreign kings, that had the sovereignty over them, and enacted much toll, tribute, and custom from them, which greatly lessened the profit of the earth to them:

also they have dominion over our bodies; and could oblige them to work for them, and do any service they should command:

and over our cattle, at their pleasure; to carry burdens for them, or ride post with them:

and we are in great distress; being servants and tributaries to a foreign power.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tribulation. As we cannot enjoy the fruits, being so heavily taxed, and obliged to work in person for the king of a foreign country. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

We plough, and sow, and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our endeavours; and yet in a great measure this is not for ourselves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay great and heavy tributes for these things; of which see Ezr 6:8; 7:24. They have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle; pressing or forcing both us and our beasts to go and do what they please.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It yieldeth much increase unto the kings. "The Persian monarchs derive a large revenue from our territory." The amount paid by Judaea is not known; but Syria, in which Judaea was included, paid annually in money 350 talents of silver (Heb 3:91), or about There was also a further contribution in kind. They have dominion over our bodies. They can impress us either as soldiers or sailors, and make us fight their battles for them. Jews probably took part in the expedition of Xerxes against Greece. And over our cattle. They can impress our cattle for their baggage-train.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yieldeth much, &c. - We plow, and sow, and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our endeavours; and yet in a great measure this is not for ourselves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay heavy tributes. Dominion - Pressing or forcing both us and our beasts to go and to do what they please.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And its produce [the produce] of the land of Israel.

it lavishes delicacies to the kings of the nations...

whom You have appointed over us who rule over us.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.