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The people cried out against their fellow Israelites because they were worried about the famine or dearth in the King James. Dearth is Hebrew for 1. famine, hunger A. famine (in land, nation) i) of Jevhovah's word (fig) B) hunger (of individuals) They mentioned that they had even mortgaged their homes and land in order to buy food. Even the children were being forced, I assume by their parents, into slavery. I think when they say that because their fields and vineyards belong to others, that is why they have had to force their children into bondage - as a form of payment. It is sad to think that in order to eat, children can be used as payment in some degree. When Nehemiah heard what these people were crying about he talked with the nobles and the rulers and convicted them on their usury. They were using the famine as a means to gain wealth/slaves from their own people who didn't have the means to repay what they owed. Yet if the people who borr...