“I shook out the folds of my robe”
I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, 'May God likewise shake out of His house and possession every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!' (Nehemiah 5:13 BSB)
What it sounds like today
Nehemiah brushing off his clothes for no clear reason.
The cultural key
Nehemiah is not straightening his clothes; he is performing a symbolic curse. Men carried money, grain, and goods in the deep fold of the garment gathered at the belt (the same 'lap' used as a measure elsewhere). By dramatically shaking that fold empty before the whole assembly, Nehemiah acts out the very fate he is calling down: just as his robe is emptied, so may God empty and shake out of house and property anyone who breaks this promise to stop exploiting the poor. It is a prophetic sign-act, a visible enacted oath, and the crowd seals it with 'Amen.' Paul does the same when he 'shook out his garments' against those who rejected his message (Acts 18:6). Miss the gesture and a solemn covenant curse looks like a puzzling twitch.
Recovered meaning
Shaking out his robe was an acted-out curse: as the fold is emptied, so may God empty anyone who breaks faith with the poor. It is a prophetic sign sealed by the assembly's 'Amen,' not a nervous fidget.