Nehemia ta itavelelwa okuya kuJerusalem
1 Ndele mohani yaNisan momudo omutimilongo mbali wohamba Artasasta, omaviinyu eshi a li koshipala shayo, ame nda kufa omaviinyu ndele handi pindile ohamba. Ndele inandi kala shito nda nyika oluhodi koshipala shayo. 2 Ohamba ya pula nge: “Omolwashike oshipala shoye tashi nyika oluhodi? To vele? Omutima woye tau fi oluhodi.” Ndele nda tila unene 3 ndele handi ti kohamba: “Ohamba nai kale nomwenyo fiyo alushe! Omolwashike oshipala shange shiha nyike oluhodi, eshi oshilando omo ootate va pakwa sha tokekwa noivelo ya xwikwa po nomundilo?” 4 Opo nee ohamba tai pula nge: “Ove wa hala shike hano?” Ndele ame nda indila Kalunga komeulu 5 ndele nda lombwela ohamba: “Ngeenge tashi wapalele ohamba nongeenge omupiya woye we mu hokwa, tume nge hano kuJuda, koshilando omo ootate va pakwa, opo ndi shi tungulule.” 6 Opo nee ohamba ya pula nge fimbo omumbada a kala omutumba puyo: To ka kala efimbo li fike peni meengeda doye, nonaini to aluka? Nohamba ya tala osha wapala okutuma nge. Naame nde i lombwela efiku 7 ndele nda lombwela ohamba: Ngeenge tashi wapalele ohamba, nandi pewe eenhumwafo kovapangeli vokouninginino waEufrat, vo va itavelele nge okutaulula fiyo handi fiki kuJuda; 8 nonhumwafo kuAsaf, omupashukili womuulu wohamba, ye a pe nge omiti dokupangela oivelo yohotengulu yotembeli noyohotekuma yoshilando noyongulu omo ndi nokukala mo. Nohamba oye shi itavelela nge, shaashi eke liwa laKalunga kange la li kombada yange. 9 Ndele nde uya kovapangeli ovo ve li mouninginino waEufrat neenhumwafo dohamba onde di va pa. Ohamba ya tuma pamwe naame ovakulunhu vomatanga ovakwaita novalondi veenghambe. 10 Ndelenee Sanballat, Omuhoroni, naTobia, omupiya Omuammoni, eshi va uda, nokutya umwe e uya okukongela ovana vaIsrael ouwa, ova ninga omwenyo mwii.
11 Ndele eshi nde uya kuJerusalem ndele nda kala ko omafiku atatu, 12 ame nda fikama oufiku novalumenhu vamwe pamwe naame. Ndelenee inandi shiivifila nande omunhu umwe osho Kalunga kange e shi tula momutima wange ndi shi ningile Jerusalem. Pwaame kapa li nande oshilondomwa ponho yoshilondomwa osho nda li nda londa. 13 Ndele nda pita mo mOshivelo shefilu oufiku, nda londa nda yuka kombinga yOfifiya yeyoka nokOshivelo shoushosho. Ndele nda konakona eehotekuma daJerusalem, odo da ngumaunwa po, noivelo yasho ya xwikwa nomundilo. 14 Ndele nda ehena ko nda ya kOshivelo shofifiya nokEtale Lohamba. Ndelenee kapa li nande onhele yokupitila oshilondomwa osho nde shi londa. 15 Opo nee oufiku mefilu nda londa ndele nda konakona ohotekuma. Opo nee nda aluka vali handi piti mOshivelo shefilu nde uya mo. 16 Ndelenee ovakomesho inava shiiva apa nda ile naashi nda ninga. Osheshi natango tuu inandi shiivifila Ovajuda novapristeli novanamadina novakomesho novakwao ovo va li ve nokukala moshilonga. 17 Opo nee handi ti kuvo: “Nye mu wete oluhepo eli tu li mulo, nokutya Jerusalem sha tokekwa noivelo yasho ya xwikwa nomundilo. Ileni tu tungululeni ohotekuma yaJerusalem, tuha kale vali oshitevo shokushekwa.” 18 Ndele nde va hepaululila nhumbi eke liwa laKalunga kange la li kombada yange, nosho yo eendjovo dohamba, yo eshi ye di lombwela nge. Ndele vo va tya: “Natu fikameni ndele tu tungeni!” Ndele va pameka omake avo va longe oshilonga shiwa.
19 Ndelenee Sanballat, Omuhoroni, naTobia, omupiya Omuammoni, naGesem, Omuarabi, eshi ve shi uda, vo ove tu dina noku tu sheka ndele tava ti: “Oshike osho tamu ningi? Mwa hala hamba okutwa ondubo nohamba?” 20 Opo nee nde va nyamukula ndele handi ti kuvo: “Kalunga komeulu, Ye ote ke shi tu wanifila, nafye, ovapiya vaye, ohatu ka fikama tu tunge. Ndele nye kamu na nande oshitukulwa ile oshipewa ile oshidimbulukifo muJerusalem.”
Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem
1 During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king, I served him his wine, as I had done before. But this was the first time I had ever looked depressed. 2 So the king said, “Why do you look so sad? You're not sick. Something must be bothering you.”
Even though I was frightened, 3 I answered, “Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! I feel sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burned down.”
4 The king asked, “What do you want me to do?”
I prayed to the God who rules from heaven. 5 Then I told the king, “Sir, if it's all right with you, please send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The queen was sitting beside the king when he asked me, “How long will it take, and when will you be back?” The king agreed to let me go, and I told him when I would return.
7 Then I asked, “Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah? 8 I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest.” God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked.
9 The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I traveled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors. 10 But when Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.
Nehemiah Inspects the Wall of Jerusalem
11 Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, 12 I got up during the night and left my house. I took some men with me, without telling anyone what I thought God wanted me to do for the city. The only animal I took was the donkey I rode on. 13 I went through Valley Gate on the west, then south past Dragon Spring, before coming to Garbage Gate. As I rode along, I took a good look at the crumbled walls of the city and the gates that had been torn down and burned. 14 On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the trail became too narrow for my donkey. 15 So I went down to Kidron Valley and looked at the wall from there. Then before daylight I returned to the city through Valley Gate.
16 None of the city officials knew what I had in mind. And I had not even told any of the Jews—not the priests, the leaders, the officials, or any other Jews who would be helping in the work. 17 But when I got back, I said to them, “Jerusalem is truly in a mess! The gates have been torn down and burned, and everything is in ruins. We must rebuild the city wall so that we can again take pride in our city.”
18 Then I told them how kind God had been and what the king had said.
Immediately, they replied, “Let's start building now!” So they got everything ready.
19 When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about our plans, they started insulting us and saying, “Just look at you! Do you plan to rebuild the walls of the city and rebel against the king?”
20 I answered, “We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history.”
