Separation from Foreigners
1 When the Law of Moses was being read aloud to the people, they came to the passage that said that no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to be permitted to join God's people. 2 This was because the people of Ammon and Moab did not give food and water to the Israelites on their way out of Egypt. Instead, they paid money to Balaam to curse Israel, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 When the people of Israel heard this law read, they excluded all foreigners from the community.
Nehemiah's Reforms
4 The priest Eliashib, who was in charge of the Temple storerooms, had for a long time been on good terms with Tobiah. 5 He allowed Tobiah to use a large room that was intended only for storing offerings of grain and incense, the equipment used in the Temple, the offerings for the priests, and the tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil given to the Levites, to the Temple musicians, and to the Temple guards. 6 While this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes was king of Babylon I had gone back to report to him. After some time I received his permission 7 and returned to Jerusalem. There I was shocked to find that Eliashib had allowed Tobiah to use a room in the Temple. 8 I was furious and threw out all of Tobiah's belongings. 9 I gave orders for the rooms to be ritually purified and for the Temple equipment, grain offerings, and incense to be put back.
10 I also learned that the Temple musicians and other Levites had left Jerusalem and gone back to their farms, because the people had not been giving them enough to live on. 11 I reprimanded the officials for letting the Temple be neglected. And I brought the Levites and musicians back to the Temple and put them to work again. 12 Then all the people of Israel again started bringing to the Temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil. 13 I put the following men in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, a priest; Zadok, a scholar of the Law; and Pedaiah, a Levite. Hanan, the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, was to be their assistant. I knew I could trust these men to be honest in distributing the supplies to the other workers.
14 Remember, my God, all these things that I have done for your Temple and its worship.
15 At that time I saw people in Judah pressing juice from grapes on the Sabbath. Others were loading grain, wine, grapes, figs, and other things on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem; I warned them not to sell anything on the Sabbath. 16 Some people from the city of Tyre were living in Jerusalem, and they brought fish and all kinds of goods into the city to sell to our people on the Sabbath. 17 I reprimanded the Jewish leaders and told them, “Look at the evil you're doing! You're making the Sabbath unholy. 18 This is exactly why God punished your ancestors when he brought destruction on this city. And yet you insist on bringing more of God's anger down on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 So I gave orders for the city gates to be shut at the beginning of every Sabbath, as soon as evening began to fall, and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my men at the gates to make sure that nothing was brought into the city on the Sabbath. 20 Once or twice merchants who sold all kinds of goods spent Friday night outside the city walls. 21 I warned them, “It's no use waiting out there for morning to come. If you try this again, I'll use force on you.” From then on they did not come back on the Sabbath. 22 I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and guard the gates to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy.
Remember me, O God, for this also, and spare me because of your great love.
23 At that time I also discovered that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or some other language and didn't know how to speak our language. 25 I reprimanded the men, called down curses on them, beat them, and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath in God's name that never again would they or their children intermarry with foreigners. 26 I told them, “It was foreign women that made King Solomon sin. Here was a man who was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him and made him king over all of Israel, and yet he fell into this sin. 27 Are we then to follow your example and disobey our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 Joiada was the son of Eliashib the High Priest, but one of Joiada's sons married the daughter of Sanballat, from the town of Beth Horon, so I made Joiada leave Jerusalem.
29 Remember, God, how those people defiled both the office of priest and the covenant you made with the priests and the Levites.
30 I purified the people from everything foreign; I prepared regulations for the priests and the Levites so that all of them would know their duties; 31 I arranged for the wood used for burning the offerings to be brought at the proper times, and for the people to bring their offerings of the first grain and the first fruits that ripened.
Remember all this, O God, and give me credit for it.
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.
