Nehemiah 13
1 Te khohnin ah Moses cabu khuikah te pilnam kah a hna ah a tae pah. Te vaengah cabu khuiah te Ammoni neh Moab tah kumhal due Pathen kah hlangping khuila kun sak pawt ham a daek te a hmuh.
On that day, when someone read to the people parts of the laws [that God gave] to Moses, they read where it was written that no one from the Ammon people-group or the Moab people-group was ever to be allowed to be with God’s people while they were gathered together [to worship].
2 Israel ca rhoek te buh neh, tui neh a doe uh pawt bueng kolla Israel te thaephoei thil ham Balaam te a paang uh. Tedae kaimih kah Pathen loh rhunkhuennah te yoethennah la a poeh sak.
The reason for that was that the people of Ammon and the people of Moab did not give/sell any food or water to the Israelis [while the Israelis were going through their areas after they left Egypt]. Instead, the people of Ammon and Moab paid money to Balaam in order that he would curse the Israelis. But God commanded Balaam to bless the people, not to curse them.
3 Olkhueng te a yaak van neh namcom boeih tah Israel taeng lamloh a hoep uh.
So when the people heard these laws [being read to them], they sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.
4 Te hlan vaengah khosoih Eliashib te Tobiah neh a yoei la kaimih kah Pathen im kah imkhan ah a khueh.
Previously, Eliashib the priest had been appointed to be in charge of the storerooms in the temple. He was a relative of [our enemy] Tobiah.
5 Anih ham te imkhan a len a saii pah. Te dongah a hmai ah khocang, hmueihtui, hnopai, parha pakhat, cangpai, misur thai neh situi khaw, Levi rhoek kah olpaek khaw, laa sa rhoek khaw, thoh tawt rhoek neh khosoih rhoek kah khosaa aka pae khaw pahoi om uh.
He allowed Tobiah to use a large room in which they had previously stored the grain offerings and the incense, the equipment that is used in the temple, the offerings [that the people had brought] for the priests, and the tithes of grain and wine and [olive] oil that [God] had commanded the people to bring to the [other] descendants of Levi, and to the temple musicians, and to the temple guards.
6 Te vaeng rhuet te Jerusalem ah ka om moenih. Babylon manghai Artaxerxes kah sawmthum kum nit daengah ni manghai taengla ka mael tih khohnin a thoknah te manghai taengah ka bih.
While [Tobias was using that room], I was not in Jerusalem, because in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, I went back there to report to him. After a while I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem, [and he allowed me to go].
7 Tedae Jerusalem la ka mael vaengah tah Eliashib loh Tobiah ham boethae a saii te ka yakming. Anih ham te Pathen im kah vongup khuiah khai a saii pah.
When I arrived in Jerusalem, I found out that Eliashib had done an evil thing by allowing Tobiah to use a room in God’s temple.
8 Te lalah kai he muep n'noih dongah Tobiah im kah hnopai boeih te imkhan lamloh poeng la ka voeih pah.
I became very angry, and I threw out of that room everything that belonged to Tobiah.
9 Ka thui bangla imkhan te a caihcil uh phoeiah ni Pathen im kah hnopai te khaw khocang hmueihtui neh ka mael pueng.
Then I commanded [that they perform a ritual] to make the rooms (pure/acceptable to God) again. And I also ordered that all the equipment used in the temple and all the grain offerings and incense should be put in that room again.
10 Levi rhoek buham a moe pawt te khaw ka ming. Te vaengah Levi khaw, laa sa rhoek khaw, bitat aka saii rhoek khaw amah khohmuen la rhip yong uh.
I also found out that the temple musicians and [other] descendants of Levi had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields/farms, because the Israeli people had not been bringing to them the food [that they needed].
11 Te dongah ukkung rhoek te ka ho tih, “Pathen im ke balae tih a hnoo?” ka ti nah. Te phoeiah amih te ka coi tih amah paihmuen ah ka pai sak.
So I rebuked the officials, saying to them, “(Why have you not taken care of the work in the temple?/It is disgraceful that you have not taken care of the work in the temple.)” [RHQ] So I brought the descendants of Levi and the musicians back to the temple, and told them to do their work there again.
12 Te daengah Judah pum loh parha pakhat, cangpai, misur thai neh situi khaw thakvoh khuila a pawk puei uh.
Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and [olive] oil.
13 Thakvoh rhoek te khosoih Shelemiah, cadaek Zadok neh Levi lamkah Pedaiah taengah ka kael sak. Amih kut hmuikah Mattaniah koca Zakkuur capa Hanan tah uepom la a moeh uh dongah amih taengah a manuca rhoek ham boe aka soep la ka khueh.
I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, who was a priest; Zadok, who knew the Jewish laws very well; and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan, who is the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, to assist them. I knew that I could trust these men while they distributed those offerings to their fellow workers.
14 Ka Pathen aw he ham he kai m'poek lah. Ka Pathen im ham neh a rhaltawt rhoek ham ka saii vanbangla ka sitlohnah te na khoe moenih.
My God, do not forget all these good things that I have faithfully done for your temple and for the work that is done there!
15 Amih tue vaengah Judah khui lamloh Sabbath ah misur rhom aka pok, canghlom aka puen, laak dongah aka tloeng khaw ka hmuh. Te vaengah misurtui, misurthaih, thaibu, hnorhih cungkuem khaw Sabbath hnin ah Jerusalem la a khuen uh. Te dongah amih kah sakah a yoih uh hnin ah tah ka rhalrhing sak.
During that time, I saw some people in Judea [who were working] on the Sabbath day. [Some were] pressing grapes [to make wine]. Others were putting grain, [bags of] wine, [baskets of] grapes, figs, and many [HYP] other things, on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem. I warned them that they should not sell things to the people of Judea on Sabbath days.
16 A khuiah nga neh aka phu boeih aka khuen tih Sabbath vaengah Judah koca rhoek taeng neh Jerusalem ah aka yoi Tyre rhoek loh kho a sak uh.
I also saw some people from Tyre [city] who were living there in Jerusalem who were bringing fish and other things [into Jerusalem] to sell to the people of Judea on the Sabbath day.
17 Te dongah Judah hlangcoelh rhoek te ka ho tih amih te, “Balae tih boethae hno na saii neh Sabbath hnin na poeih uh.
So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, “This is [RHQ] a very evil thing that you are doing! You are causing the Sabbath days to be unholy.
18 Na pa rhoek loh he he a saii uh moenih a? Te dongah ni mamih kah Pathen loh mamih soah neh khopuei soah he yoethae cungkuem a pai sak. Nangmih loh Sabbath na poeih tih Israel te thinsa na koei uh coeng,” ka ti nah.
Your ancestors did [RHQ] things like that, so God punished them, and as a result, this city was destroyed! And now by causing the Sabbath day to be unholy, you are going to cause God to be angry with us Israeli people [and punish us] more!”
19 Te dongah Sabbath hlan kah Jerusalem vongka a khup nen tah ka ti nah bangla thohkhaih rhoek a khaih uh. Te vaengah Sabbath a poeng hil a ong uh pawt ham ka thui pah. Ka tueihyoeih rhoek te vongka ah ka pai sak tih Sabbath hnin ah hnorhih puen uh voel pawh.
So I ordered that at (the beginning of every Sabbath day/every Friday evening) they should shut the gates of the city before it became dark. I also ordered that they should not open the gates until (the Sabbath day was ended [the next day]/Saturday evening). Then [each Sabbath day] I put some of my men at the gates, so they would make sure that nothing to sell was brought into the city on that day.
20 Te dongah thenpom rhoek neh hnoyoih cungkuem aka yoi rhoek tah Jerusalem kah vongvoel ah vai khaw hnavoei khaw rhaeh uh.
One or two times merchants [DOU] stayed outside of the city on (Friday night/[the night before the Sabbath day]).
21 Tedae amih te ka rhalrhing sak tih amamih taengah khaw, “Balae tih vongtung kaep ah na rhaeh uh? Nangmih soah kut kan hlah vetih na talh uh ve saw,” ka ti nah. Te khohnin lamlong tah Sabbath ah mop uh pawh.
I warned them, “It is useless [RHQ] for you to stay here outside the walls [on Friday night]! If you do this again, I will tell my men to arrest you!” So after that, they did not come on Sabbath days.
22 Te phoeiah Levi rhoek te khaw a caihcil la om ham, vongka ngaithuen ham aka pawk khaw Sabbath hnin te ciim ham khaw ka uen. Te dongah ka Pathen aw kai he m'poek lamtah na sitlohnah loh a cungkuem vanbangla kai he n'rhen lah.
I also commanded the descendants of Levi to [perform the ritual to] purify themselves and to guard the city gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy [by not allowing merchants to enter it on Sabbath days]. My God, do not forget this also that I [have done for you]! And because of your faithfully loving me, allow me to continue to live [many more years]!
23 Te vaeng hnin ah pataeng Judah rhoek loh Ashodi, Ammoni, Moab nu rhoek neh kho a sak uh te ka hmuh.
During that time, I also found out that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod [city], and from [the] Ammon and Moab [people-groups].
24 A ca rhoek khaw rhakthuem Ashodi ol la cal uh tih amih te pilnam neh pilnam pataeng Judah ol la a voek ham hmat uh pawh.
The result was that half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod speak or some other language, and they didn’t know how to speak our language.
25 Te dongah amih te ka ho tih thae ka phoei. Amih hlang te ka taam tih ka poelh. Amih te Pathen taengah ka toemngam; Na tanu te amih koca rhoek taengla na pae uh ve. Amih nu te na ca rhoek ham neh namamih ham na lo uh ve.
So I rebuked those men, and I [asked God to] curse them, and I beat them and pulled out [some of] their hair. Then I forced them to solemnly promise, knowing that God [MTY] was [listening], that they would never again marry foreigners, and never allow their children to marry foreigners.
26 Israel manghai Solomon khaw he nen he a tholh moenih a? Namtom te yet lakli ah anih bang manghai a om moenih. A Pathen loh a lungnah la a om dongah anih te Pathen loh Israel boeih soah manghai la a khueh lalah anih te kholong nu rhoek loh a tholh sak.
[I said to them], “Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned [RHQ] as a result of [marrying] foreign women. He was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him, and caused him to become the king of all the Israeli people, but his foreign wives caused even him to sin.
27 He boethae duet boeih saii ham, mamih Pathen taengah boekoek ham, kholong nu neh khosak ham a nangmih kawng khaw ka yaak eh?
[Do you think that] we should do what you have done, and disobey our God by marrying foreign women [who worship idols]? [RHQ]”
28 Te dongah khosoih len Eliashib capa Joiada koca lamkah Khoroni Sanballat kah a cava khaw ka taeng lamloh ka yong sak.
One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the Supreme Priest, had married the daughter of [our enemy] Sanballat, from Beth-Horon [town]. So I forced Jehoiada’s son to leave Jerusalem.
29 Ka Pathen aw amih te poek lah. A khosoihbi khaw, a khosoihbi neh Levi paipi khaw a noknah.
My God, do not forget that those people [who have married foreign women] have caused it to be a shame/disgrace to be a priest, and have caused people to despise the agreement that you made with the priests and with the [other] descendants of Levi [who help the priests])!
30 Amih te kholong boeih taeng lamloh ka caihcil tih hamsum te khosoih la, Levi la a bitat dongah rhip ka pai sak.
I did all that to make sure that there were no more foreign people among the [Israeli] people [who would encourage them to worship idols]. I also established regulations for the priests and [other] descendants of Levi, in order that they would know what work they should do.
31 A tue a caeng vaengkah nawnnah thing ham neh thaihcuek ham khaw, Pathen aw ka taengkah he ka hnothen la poek mai.
I also arranged for people to bring the firewood [that was needed to burn on the altar, as Moses had declared] that we should [do]. I also arranged for the people to bring the first part of what they harvested [each year]. My God, do not forget [that] I [have done all these things], and bless me [for doing them]!
