Foreigners Are Sent Away
1 On that day when the Law of Moses was read aloud to everyone, it was discovered that Ammonites and Moabites were forbidden to belong to the people of God. 2 This was because they had refused to give food and water to Israel and had hired Balaam to call down a curse on them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 Following the reading of the Law of Moses, the people of Israel started sending away anyone who had any foreign ancestors.
Nehemiah Makes Other Changes
4 The priest Eliashib was a relative of Tobiah and had earlier been put in charge of the temple storerooms. 5 So he let Tobiah live in one of these rooms, where all kinds of things had been stored—the grain offerings, incense, utensils for the temple, as well as the tenth of the grain, wine, and olive oil that had been given for the use of the Levites, singers, and temple guards, and the gifts for the priests.
6 This happened in the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes ruled Babylonia. I was away from Jerusalem at the time, because I was visiting him. Later I received permission from the king 7 to return to Jerusalem. Only then did I find out that Eliashib had done this terrible thing of letting Tobiah have a room in the temple. 8 It upset me so much that I threw out every bit of Tobiah's furniture. 9 Then I ordered the room to be cleaned and the temple utensils, the grain offerings, and the incense to be brought back into the room.
10 I also found out that the temple singers and several other Levites had returned to work on their farms, because they had not been given their share of the harvest. 11 I called the leaders together and angrily asked them, “Why is the temple neglected?” Then I told them to start doing their jobs. 12 After this, everyone in Judah brought a tenth of their grain, wine, and olive oil to the temple storeroom. 13 Finally, I appointed three men with good reputations to be in charge of what was brought there and to distribute it to the others. They were Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the teacher of the Law, and Pedaiah the Levite. Their assistant was Hanan, the son of Zaccur and the grandson of Mattaniah.
14 I pray that my God will remember these good things that I have done for his temple and for those who worship there.
The Sabbath
15 I also noticed what the people of Judah were doing on the Sabbath. Not only were they trampling grapes to make wine, but they were harvesting their grain, grapes, figs, and other crops, and then loading these on donkeys to sell in Jerusalem. So I warned them not to sell food on the Sabbath. 16 People who had moved to Jerusalem from the city of Tyre were bringing in fish and other things to sell there on the Sabbath. 17 I got angry and said to the leaders of Judah, “This evil you are doing is an insult to the Sabbath! 18 Didn't God punish us and this city because our ancestors did these very same things? And here you are, about to make God furious again by disgracing the Sabbath!”
19 I ordered the gates of Jerusalem to be closed on the eve of the Sabbath and not to be opened until after the Sabbath had ended. Then I put some of my own men in charge of the gates to make certain that nothing was brought in on the Sabbath. 20 Once or twice some merchants spent the night outside Jerusalem with their goods. 21 But I warned them, “If you do this again, I'll have you arrested.” From then on, they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 I ordered the Levites to make themselves holy and to guard the gates on the Sabbath, so that it would be kept holy.
God is truly merciful, and I pray that he will treat me with kindness and bless me for doing this.
Mixed Marriages
23 I discovered that some Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 About half of their children could not speak Hebrew—they spoke only the language of Ashdod or some other foreign language. 25 So in my anger, I called down curses on those men. I had them beaten and even pulled out the hair of some of them. Then I made them promise:
In the name of God we solemnly promise not to let our sons and daughters marry foreigners. 26 God dearly loved King Solomon of Israel and made him the greatest king on earth, but Solomon's foreign wives led him into sin. 27 So we will obey you and not rebel against our God by marrying foreign women.
28 Jehoiada, the son of the high priest Eliashib, had a son who had married a daughter of Sanballat from Horon, and I forced his son to leave.
29 I pray that God will punish them for breaking their priestly vows and disgracing the Levi tribe.
30 Then I made sure that the people were free from every foreign influence, and I assigned duties for the priests and Levites. 31 I also arranged for the people to bring firewood to the altar each day and for them to bring the first part of their harvest to the temple.
I pray that God will bless me for the good I have done.
ǃHaokhoena xu ǀgoras
1 Moseb di ǂhanuban ge khoena khomaibahe, o i ge ǁnāpa Amonǁîn tsî Moabǁîn tsîn ge Elob ǀhaohâb ǃnâ ǂgâ tide ti a xoasa ǃkhai-e ge hōhe. 2 ǁNās ge ǁîn ge ǂû-i tsî ǁgam-i tsîna Israelǁîna Egipteba xun ge doeǂoagaru i daob ai mā tama i amagasa. ǁÎn ge ǁnās ǃgâ-ai Bileamma ge matare, îb Israelǁîna ǀâxare, xaweb ge sida Eloba ǁnā ǀâxareba ǀkhaeb ǃnâ ge ǀkharaǀkhara. 3 On ge Israelǁîna nē ǂhanuban ge ǁnâuo, ǃhaokhoena Israelǁîn di ǀhûhâsiba xu ge ǁaraǂui.
Nehemiab di dī-unudi
4 Prister Eljasib, Elob ommi di sâuǃnâ-omdi mûǂamaose ge mâihe hâ ib ge ǂomxa ǁaeba ge Tobiab di sîsenǁare-ao i. 5 ǁÎb ge kai ǃnā-oms, ǃhoro-i, ǀanǀanxūn, Tempeli di xapan, pristergu nî māhe ǁguibadi, disiǁîǃâs ǃhoro-i, ǂauxûi-i tsî ǀkhera-oli-i dis, Leviǁîgu, ǁnae-aogu tsî ǃûi-aogu dis tsîn ǀguin gere sâuǃnâhesa Tobiaba ge mā. 6 Nē ǃkhais ge ī, o ta ge tita Jerusalems ǃnâ ge ǀkhai i, ǃnonadisiǀgamǀaǁî kurib Babiloniab gao-aob Artaxerxesi ǂgaeǂguis dib ǃnâ ta ge gao-aob ǁga a ǃgû xui-ao. ǁAe-i khaoǃgâ ta ge gao-aoba xu mā-amsa ge ǃkhōǃoa 7 tsî Jerusalems ǁga ge oa. ǁNāpa ta ge Eljasib di ǂkhabadīb, Tobiabab ge Tempeli di ǃnā-omsa mās diba ge ǂanǂui. 8 O ta ge kaise ǁaixa tsî Tobiab di xūn hoana ǃnā-omsa xu ge aoǂui. 9 Tsî ta ge ge mîmā, îdi ǃnā-omde ǃanuǃanuhe tsî Elob ommi di xapan, ǁguibas ǃhoro-i tsî ǀanǀanxūn tsîna ǁkhawa ǂgâ-ūhe.
10 Tsî ta ge ǁkhāti ge ǂanǂui Tempelǁnae-aogu tsî Leviǁîgu tsîn ge ǁîgu nî ǃkhōǃoase i ǃâsa gu ge māhe tama hâ i amaga, ǁîgu di ǃgaroǃārode ǃoa oa ǃkhaisa. 11 Tita ge ǂamkhoega ge ǀau, Tempela gu ge ǀûǀkhā hâ i ǃkhais ǃaroma. Tsî ta ge ǁnās khaoǃgâ Leviǁîgu tsî ǁnae-aogu tsîga ǀhaoǀhao tsî ǁkhawa ǁîgu sîsenni ǃnâ ge mâi-oa. 12 On ge hoaraga Israelǁîna ǁkhawa disiǁîǃâs ǃhoro-i, ǂauxûi-i tsî ǀkhera-oli-i disa ge hā-ūtsoatsoa. 13 Sao ra khoega ta ge sâuǃnâ-omdi mûǂamaose ge mâi: Prister Selemjab, xoaǂanseb Sadoki, Leviǁîb Pedajab tsîgu tsî Hananni, Sakuri ôa tsî Matanjab ǁnurib, ǁîga gere huib tsîga. ǂAn ta ge i xui-ao, nē khoegu ǂhauǃnâse ǁîgu horesa ǃoaba-aoga xūna nî ǀgoraǂuiba ǃkhaisa.
14 Elotse ǂâi re, sa Tempeli tsî ǁîb di ǃoabasa ta ge dība ǃgâin xa.
15 ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâ ta ge Sabbattsēs ai ǀāǃnâǃkhais ǃnâ draibena ra dāǃnâ khoena ge mû. ǀNîn ge ǃhoro-i, ǂauxûi-i, draiben, ǀnoman tsî nau xūna dâukin ai ǃnao hâse Jerusalems ǃnâ gere ǂgâxa-ū. O ta ge ǁîna ge ǃkhâikhom, în tā xū-i xare-e Sabbattsēs ai ǁamaxū. 16 Tirus di khoen Jerusalems ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ in ge ǁaun tsî ǀnî ǃkharagaǃnâgu xūn tsîna ǃās ǃnâ hā-ū, tsî Sabbattsēs ai Judab khoen ai gere ǁamaxū. 17 Tita ge Jodeǁî ǂgaeǂgui-aoga ǂgōǀau tsî ge mî: “Kō re, mâtikō ǂkhabadība go ra dīsa. Sago ge Sabbattsēsa ra ǃanuoǃnâ kai. 18 ǁNātin ge dī ǃkhais ǃaromas ge Elob ge sada aboxan tsî nē ǃās tsîna ǁkhara hâ isa. Tsî go ge nēsi Sabbattsēsa ǃanuoǃnâ kais ǀkha, Elob di kai ǁaiba Israeli ǂama ra hā-ū.”
19 ǁNā-amaga ta ge ge mîmā ǃās di dao-amdi mâ Sabbattsēs di tsoatsoas hoasa, ǃui i ra hîa nî ǂganamhe tsî Sabbattsēs ǃkharu tama hîa ǁkhowa-amhe tidesa. Tsî ta ge ǀnîgu, ti ǃgāgu diga dao-amdi tawa ge mâi, î gu ǃûiǃgâ xū-i xare-i Sabbattsēs ai ǃās ǃnâ ǂgâxa-ūhe tidesa. 20 On ge ǃkharagaǃnâgu xūn di ǁamaxū-aona, ǀgui tamas ka io ǀgam ǃnāra ǃās ǃauga gere ǁomǂkhai. 21 Tita ge ǁîga ge ǃkhâikhom: “Tare-i ǃaroma go ǂnubiǂgoab tawa ra ǁomǂkhai? ǁKhawa go ga ǁnāsa dī, o ta ge ǀgaisase sago ǃoagu nî khâimâ.” ǁNās khaoǃgâ gu ge ǁkhawa Sabbattsēs ai hā tama ge i. 22 Tsî ta ge Leviǁîga ge mîmā, î gu ǃanuǃanusen tsî dao-amde sī ǃûi, îs Sabbattsēsa ǃanuse ūhâhe.
Nēs tsîn xa ǂâi re, ti Elotse, î sa kai ǀnammi ǃaroma sâu te re.
23 ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâ ta ge Jodeǁîgu, Asdodǁîdi, Amonǁîdi tsî Moabǁîdi tsîn ǀkha ǃgame hâ ǃkhaisa ge mû. 24 ǃKhare ǃâb ǁîgu ôan dib ge Asdodgowab tamas ka io ǀnî ǀkhara gowaba gere ǃhoa tsî Jodeǁîn di gowaba ge ǃhoa ǁoa i. 25 Tita ge ǁîga ǂgōǀau, ǁîga ǀâxare, ǀnîga ǂnau tsî ǀûn âga ge tsuruǂui. Tsî ta ge ǁîga Elob ǀons ǃnâ ge nū kai ǁkhawa gu ǁîgu kas, ǁîgu ôan kas hoasa ǃhaokhoen ǀkha ǃgameǃnâgu kai tidesa. 26 Tita ge ǁîga ge mîba: “ǃHao tarade xus ge gao-aob Salomob ge ǁoresa. ǁÎb ge nau ǃhaodi di gao-aogu hoagu ǃgâ-ai ge kai i. Elob ge ǁîba ge ǀnam i tsî ǁîba hoaraga Israeli ǂama ge gao-aodī, xaweb ge ǁoreb ǃnâ ge ǁnā. 27 Sago aiǁgausa sao tsî ǃhao tarade ǃgames ǀkha ge kha sada Eloba nî ǁnâuǀnamoǃnâ?”
28 Jojadab ge ǀgapipristeri Eljasib di ôa ge iba, xaweb ge Jojadab ôagu di ǀguiba Sanbalati, Bet-Horons dib di ôas ǀkha ge ǃgame, ǁnā-amaga ta ge ǁîba Jerusalemsa xu ge ǃhaebē.
29 ǂÂi re ti Elotse, mâti gu ge pristersis tsî sa ǃgaeǀhaos, pristergu tsî Leviǁîgu ǀkhats ge dī hâ isa ǀuriǀuri ǃkhais xa.
30 Tita ge khoena ǃhao xūn hoana xu ge ǃanuǃanu, tsî ta ge pristergu tsî Leviǁîga ǃoabaǁaega ge ǀgoraǂgāba, mâb hoaba ǁîb di sîsenna ǃoa; 31 ǁkhāti ta ge ǁguibas ǀaen mîmâisa ǁaegu ai nî hā-ūhesa ge ǂhomi, tsî khoen ǂguro ǃhanaǂûna ǁguibase nî hā-ūsa.
Nēn hoan xa ǂâi re ti Elotse, î ǃgâidī te re.
