1 The men and their wives complained loudly against their fellow Jews.
2 Some of them were saying, “We have many sons and daughters in our families. To eat and stay alive, we need grain.”
3 Others were saying, “We are borrowing money to get grain. There is not much food. We might not be able to pay back the money we’ve borrowed. Then we will have to pay with our fields, vineyards and homes.”
4 And still others were saying, “We are having to borrow money. We have to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.