< Nehemiah 8 >
1 Kaminawk boih angzoh o moe, tui khongkha hmaa ih loklam ah amkhueng o; Angraeng mah Israel caanawk khaeah paek ih, Mosi ih kaalok cabu to sinh hanah ca tarikkung Ezra khaeah thuih pae o baktih toengah,
Ezra, who taught people the laws of Moses, [had a scroll on which] the laws of Moses were written. Those were the laws that Yahweh had commanded the Israeli people [to obey]. On October 8 of that year, all the people gathered together in the plaza/square that was close to the Water Gate. Men and women and [children] who [were old enough to] understand gathered together. Someone told Ezra to bring out that scroll.
2 khrah sarihto amtong tangsuekhaih niah, qaima Ezra mah kaalok to nongpa nongpatanawk hoi lok thaikop kaminawk boih hmaa ah sin pae.
3 Lok thaikop, nongpa hoi nongpatanawk hmaa ah akhawnbang hoi athun karoek to, tuipuek khongkha hmaa ih loklam ah a kroek pae; kaminawk boih mah kaalok cabu thung ih lok to palung tang hoi tahngaih pae o.
So he brought it out and read it to the people. He started reading it early in the morning and continued reading it until noontime. All the people listened carefully to the laws that were written on the scroll.
4 Ca tarikkung Ezara loe nihcae mah thing hoi sak o ih hmaicam nuiah angdoet; a bantang bangah Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah hoi Maaseiah cae angdoet o moe, banqoi bangah Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkhiah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zekhariah hoi Meshullam cae to angdoet o.
Ezra stood on top of a high wooden platform that had been built just for that event. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. At his left side stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 Kaminawk mah anih hnuk o thai hanah, Ezra loe minawk pong sang kue ah angdoet, anih mah minawk hmaa ah cabu to paongh naah, kaminawk boih angdoet o.
Ezra stood on the platform above the people, where they could all see him. He opened the scroll; and as he did that, all the people stood up, [and they continued to stand, to show respect for God’s word].
6 Ezra mah kalen koek Sithaw, Angraeng to tahamhoihaih paek. To naah kaminawk boih ban payangh o moe, Amen! Amen! tiah pathim o: Mikhmai long ah akuep o moe, Angraeng to a bok o.
Then Ezra praised Yahweh, the great God, and all the people lifted up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they all bowed down with their foreheads touching the ground, and they worshiped Yahweh.
7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah hoi Levinawk mah, kaminawk angmacae ahmuen ah angdoet o naah, kaalok panoek o thaih hanah abomh o.
Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, were all (Levites/men who worked in the temple). They explained the meaning of the laws of Moses to the people who were standing there.
8 Nihcae mah Sithaw ih kaalok to kroek pae o, kroek o ih lok to a thaih o kop hanah, a thuih koehhaih lokhlong to kaminawk hanah kamtueng ah leh pae o.
They also read from scrolls that contained the laws that God [gave to Moses], and they interpreted [into the Aramaic language] what they read, making the meaning clear so that the people could understand the meaning.
9 Kaminawk mah kaalok to thaih o naah, qah o pongah, prae ukkung Nehemiah, ca tarikkung hoi qaima Ezra, patukkung, Levinawk mah, kaminawk boih khaeah, Vaihni loe Angraeng na Sithaw han ciimcaihaih niah oh; palungsae o sak hmah loe, qah o hmah, tiah naa o.
Then I, Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra, and the Levites who were interpreting what was being read to the people, said to them, “Yahweh your God considers that this day is very holy/sacred. So do not be sad or cry!” They said that because all the people were crying as they were listening to the laws of Moses.
10 Nehemiah mah, Caeh oh loe, caaknaek kahoih to caa oh, kaluep tui to nae oh; caaknaek tawn ai kaminawk han doeh paek oh; vaihni loe aicae Angraeng hanah ciimcaihaih niah oh; palungsae o hmah, Angraeng anghoehaih loe nangcae thacakhaih ah oh, tiah a naa.
Then I said to them, “Now go home and enjoy [some] good food and drink [some] sweet wine. And send some of it to people who do not have anything [to eat or drink]. This is a day that Yahweh considers sacred. Do not be sad! Yahweh will cause you to be joyful and make you strong.”
11 Levinawk mah, Vaihni loe kaciim niah oh pongah, om o duem ah, palungsae o hmah, tiah a naa.
The Levites also caused the people to be quiet, saying “Be quiet [and do not cry], because this is a sacred day! Do not be sad!”
12 Nihcae khaeah thuih pae ih lok to thaikop o pongah, kaminawk boih mah caak naek o, caaknaek tawn ai kaminawk han doeh caaknaek to paek o moe, kanawm ah poih to sak o.
So the people went away, and they ate and drank, and they sent portions of food [to those who did not have any]. They celebrated very joyfully, because they had heard and understood what had been read to them.
13 Ni hnetto haih naah loe, kaalok amtuk hanah, acaeng ukkungnawk, qaimanawk hoi Levinawk boih ca tarikkung Ezra khaeah amkhueng o.
The next day, the leaders of the families and the priests and [other] descendants of Levi met with Ezra to study carefully the laws that Yahweh had given to Moses.
14 To naah Israelnawk loe khrah sarihto haih poih sak naah impoem tetta thungah oh han angaih, tiah Angraeng mah Mosi khaeah paek ih kaalok cabu thungah tarik ih lok to a hnuk o.
While they were doing that, they realized that Yahweh had told Moses to command the Israeli people to live in shelters during that month, [to remember that their ancestors lived in shelters when they left Egypt].
15 To lok to thaih o naah, cabu thung ih lok baktih toengah, impoem ta sak hanah, mae nuiah caeh oh loe, olive thing tanghang, hmaica thing tanghang, myrtle thing tanghang, ungsikung baktih kaom thing tanghangnawk hoi aqam kathah thing tanghangnawk to sin oh, tiah Jerusalem hoi angmacae ih vangpuinawk boih ah taphong o.
They also learned that they should proclaim in Jerusalem and in all the towns that the people should go to the hills and cut branches from olive trees [that they have planted] and from wild olive trees and from myrtle trees and palm trees and fig trees. They should make shelters from these branches, and live in those shelters during the festival, just as Moses wrote [that they should do].
16 To pongah kaminawk loe caeh o moe, thing tanghangnawk to sin o; imphu nuiah maw, to tih ai boeh loe angmacae im longhma, Sithaw im longhma, tuipuek khongkha longhma hoi Ephraim khongkha longhmaa ah impoem ta to a sak o.
So the people went out [of the city] and cut branches and used them to build shelters. They built shelters on the [flat] roofs [of their houses], in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the temple, and in the plazas/squares close to the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate.
17 Misong hoi amlaem let kaminawk boih, impoem ta to sak o moe, a thungah anghnut o; Nun capa Joshua ih adungh hoi kamtong vaihni ni khoek to Israel caanawk mah to tiah sah o vai ai vop. Nihcae loe paroeai anghoehaih tawnh o.
All of the Israeli people who had returned from Babylon built shelters and lived in them [for one week]. The Israeli people had not celebrated that festival like that since the time that Joshua lived. And they were very joyful.
18 Amtong tangsuekhaih ni hoi boenghaih ni khoek to nito pacoeng nito, Ezara mah Sithaw ih kaalok to kroek pae. Nihcae mah to poih to ni sarihto thung patoh o; ni tazetto naah loe, angmacae khosakhaih atawk baktiah, nawnto amkhuenghaih to a sak o.
Every day during that week Ezra read to the people from the scroll that contained the laws that God [gave Moses]. Then on the eighth day, just as one of the laws of God said that they should do, they gathered together to end the celebration.