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.
Eiyoololo maakwiilongo
1 Ompango yaMoses sho ya li tayi leshelwa aantu mokule, oya adha peha mpoka taku tiwa kutya Aayammoni nenge Aamoabi kaye na okupitikilwa ekwatathano naantu yaKalunga. 2 Shika osha ningwa, molwaashoka Aayammoni nAamoabi inaa pa Aaisraeli omeya niikulya mondjila yokuza kuEgipiti. Peha lyasho oya futu Bileam iimaliwa, a thinge Israel, ihe Kalunga ketu ethingano ndika okwe li galulile elaleko nuuyamba. 3 Aaisraeli sho yu uvu ompango ndjika tayi leshwa, oyi iyoolola maakwiilongo ayehe, yaa kwatathane nayo.
Omaopaleko gaNehemia
4 Omuyambi Eliashib, ngoka a li omutonateli gwoompungulilo dhomotempeli, okwa li e na ekwatathano naTobia. 5 Okwa pitika, Tobia a longithe ela enene ndyoka lya li lya dhiladhililwa okupungula iikulyandjambo niitsinino, iikwaniipangitho yomotempeli, omayambo omolwaayambi niitimulongo yiilya, omaviinu nomagadhi gooholivi ga pewa Aalevi naayimbi yomotempeli naalangeli yotempeli. 6 Ihe ayihe mbika sho ya ningwa, kanda li mo muJerusalem, oshoka momumvo omutimilongondatu nambali sho Artakserkses a li omukwaniilwa gwaBabilonia, onda shunine, ndi ke mu tseyithile iinima. Sho pwa piti omasiku, okwa pitikile ndje, 7 ndi shune kuJerusalem. Onda haluka, sho nda mono Eliashib a zimine Tobia a longithe ela limwe motempeli. 8 Onda li nda thita po kondjahi e tandi umbu mo iikoloiikolokoto yaTobia ayihe. 9 Onda gandja elaka, omala ga opalekwe pamisindilo, niikwaniipangitho yomotempeli, iikulyandjambo niitsinino yi galulilwe mo.
10 Onda koneke wo kutya aayimbi yomotempeli nAalevi yalwe ya li muJerusalem, oya adhika ya shuna koohambo dhawo, molwaashoka aantu inaye ya pa oompumbwe dhawo. 11 Onda nyenyetele omalenga, sho ge etha otempeli yi dhanenwe. Onda galulile Aalevi naayimbi motempeli e tandi ya langeke ishewe miilonga. 12 Nena Aaisraeli ayehe oya tameke okweeta ishewe iitimulongo yawo yiilya, yomaviinu noyomagadhi gooholivi. 13 Onda tula aalumentu mbaka melangelo lyoompungulilo: omuyambi Shelemia, omunongompango Sadok nOmulevi Pedaia. Hanan yaSakkur, omutekulu gwaMattania, okwa li omuyakuli gwawo. Aalumentu mbaka oya talwa aainekelwa mokutopolela aayakuli ooyakwawo iipewa yawo yiikulya.
14 Kalunga kandje, dhimbulukwa ndje, ngoye ino dhimbwa oholeyakulo yandje. Ayihe onde yi ningi omolwotempeli yoye nelongelokalunga lyamo.
15 Methimbo ndyoka onda mono aantu muJuda taa kolo omaviinu mEsabati. Yamwe oya londeka iilya, omaviinu, omandjembele, oonkwiyu niinima yilwe kuusino wawo e taye yi eta muJerusalem. Onde ya londodha, yaa landakanithe sha mEsabati. 16 Aantu yamwe yoshilando Tiro oya li ya kala muJerusalem noye eta mo oohi niinima yi ili noyi ili, ye yi landakanithe naantu yetu mEsabati. 17 Onda nyenyetele aawiliki yAajuda e te ti: “Taleni uuwinayi mpoka u thike tamu u ningi. Ne otamu nyateke Esabati. 18 Osho naanaa shoka Kalunga a geelele oohokulu, sho a hanagula po oshilando shika. Natango ne otamu tukuluthile Israel ondjahi onene yaKalunga yi vule yonale, sho tamu hunu mokunyateka Esabati.”
19 Onda gandja elaka, omiyelo dhoshilando dhi edhilwe petameko lyEsabati, shampa kwa wiwile ongulohi, noitadhi egululwa we, sigo Esabati lya piti. Onda langeke aantu yandje yamwe pomiyelo, opo ya tale, ngele ope na ngoka te eta sha moshilando esiku lyEsabati. 20 Lumwe nolwaali aalandithi naashingithi yiipindi yi ili noyi ili oya kala uusiku auhe pondje yoshilando taa landitha iipindi yawo. 21 Onde ya londodha nda ti: “Oshike tamu hungile pekuma? Ngele tamu shi yelekele natango, otandi ke mu geela.” Okuza mpoka inaa galuka we mEsabati. 22 Onda lombwele Aalevi, yi ithete pamisindilo yo ye ye ya langele omiyelo yo ya tale, ngele Esabati otali yapulwa tuu.
Kalunga kandje, dhimbulukwa ndje, ngoye u sile ndje ohenda omoluunene wesilohenda lyoye.
23 Pethimbo ndyoka onda koneke ishewe kutya nani Aajuda oyendji oya hokana aakulukadhi ya za kuAshdod, Ammon naMoab. 24 Etata lyomaana yawo otali popi elaka lyokuAshdod nenge elaka lilwe li ili yo inaa tseya okupopya elaka lyetu. 25 Onda nyenyetele aasamane, onde ya thingi e tandi ya dhenge noku ya tudha omafufu gawo. Nena onde ya ganitha medhina lyaKalunga, opo yaa hokane we aakwiilongo, noyana yaaye shi ninge. 26 Onda ti: “Aakulukadhi aakwiilongo oyo ya yonitha Salomo. Okwa li omulumentu omunene e vule aakwaniilwa yiigwana yilwe. Kalunga okwa li e mu hole e te mu ningi omukwaniilwa gwaIsrael alihe, ndele natango okwa gwile ngaa muulunde. 27 Natu landule nduno oshinkoti sheni, twaa vulike kuKalunga ketu, tu hokane aakulukadhi aakwiilongo?”
28 Joiada okwa li omuna gwomuyambimukuluntu Eliashib, ihe omwanamati gwaJoiada okwa li a hokana omufuko omuna gwaSanballat gwokomukunda Bethoron. Onda tidha mo Joiada muJerusalem.
29 Kalunga kandje, ya landula, oshoka oyo ya nyateke uuyambi nehangano ndyoka wa hangana naayambi nAalevi.
30 Onda yelitha oshigwana kuukwiilongo; ondu uthile aayambi nAalevi iinakugwanithwa yawo, shaa ngoka pamuthika gwiilonga ye; 31 ondu utha, uuna iikuni yokulungunitha omayambo yi na okweetwa, osho wo oshipe shomiilya noshomiiyimati.
Kalunga kandje, dhimbulukwa ayihe mbika nokuyambeka ndje.
