Nehemiah 5:12
Ver. 12. Then said they, we will restore them,.... The lands, vineyards, oliveyards, and houses:
and will require nothing of them; not the hundredth part of the fruits of the earth by way of salary:
so will we do as thou sayest; they approved of his proposal, and readily agreed to it:
then I called the priests, and took an oath of them that they should do according to this promise; not that the priests were delinquents, they were not charged with anything of this kind, nor were they the men that promised restitution; but the priests were called to administer the oath to the nobles, and rulers, and rich men, to oblige them the more to keep their word; an oath being sacred, priests in an holy office were made use of to give it, that it might be the more solemn, and the more strictly regarded.