Nehemiah 8
1 Pilnam pum te tui vongka hmai kah toltung ah hlang pakhat bangla tingtun uh. Te vaengah cadaek Ezra te, “Moses kah olkhueng cabu te hang khuen, te nen ni BOEIPA loh Israel a uen,” a ti uh.
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 A hla rhih kah lamhmacuek hnin vaengah tah khosoih Ezra loh olkhueng te hlangping mikhmuh ah tongpa lamloh huta ham khaw, yaak ham aka yakming boeih taengah a phoe puei.
3 Te lamkah te tui vongka hmai kah toltung imdan ah khopo lamloh khothun khovang hil a tae. tongpa neh huta neh aka yakming rhoek kah hmai neh olkhueng cabu dongla hna aka kaeng pilnam cungkuem ham a tae pah.
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 Te vaengah cadaek Ezra te olthui vaengah kah ham a dawn tlaang thing dongah pai. Anih taengah Mattithiah neh Shema, Anaiah neh Uriah, Hilkiah neh Maaseiah, a banvoei neh a bantang ah Pedaiah neh Mishael, Malkhiah neh Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zekhariah neh Meshullam pai.
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 Ezra loh cabu te pilnam boeih kah mikhmuh ah a ong. Pilnam boeih so la om tih cabu a ong vaengah pilnam khaw boeih pai uh.
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 loh boeilen Pathen BOEIPA te a uem vaengah pilnam pum loh a kut thueng neh, “Amen, Amen,” tila a doo uh. Te phoeiah a tal te diklai la a buluk uh tih BOEIPA te a bawk uh.
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, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah neh amih Levi rhoek loh olkhueng te pilnam taengah a thuicaih pah. Te vaengah pilnam tah amamih paihmuen ah paiuh.
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 Pathen kah olkhueng cabu lamkah te puk a tae uh tih lungmingnah khaw a paek dongah tingtunnah ham khaw a yakming uh.
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 Te vaengah tongmang boei Nehemiah amah neh khosoih cadaek Ezra, pilnam ham aka thuicaih Levi rhoek loh pilnam boeih taengah, “Na Pathen BOEIPA kah khohnin cim ah he nguekcoi uh boeh, rhap uh boeh. Olkhueng ol a yaak vanbangla pilnam boeih rhap coeng,” a ti nah.
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 Amih te, “Cet uh, buhtha te ca uh lamtah didip tui khaw o uh. Mamih Boeipa kah khohnin he a cim dongah maehvae te a taengah aka sikim pawt taengah thak uh. BOEIPA kah kohoenah he nangmih kah lunghim la a om dongah kothae sak uh boeh.
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 Aka ngam Levi rhoek long khaw pilnam boeih taengah, “Saah lah, khohnin cim ni, na kothae sak uh boeh,” a ti nah.
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 Amih taengah a thuicaih pah ol te a yakming uh coeng dongah tah pilnam pum te caak ham neh ok hamla, maehvae tael hamla, kohoenah len saii hamla cet uh.
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 A hnin bae dongah tah pilnam pum kah a napa boeilu rhoek, khosoih rhoek neh Levi rhoek tah cadaek Ezra taengah olkhueng ol dongah lungming la om ham tingtun uh.
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 Te vaengah, 'Israel ca he hla rhih vaengkah khotue ah dungtlungim khuiah khosa saeh,’ tila BOEIPA loh Moses kut ah a uen tih olkhueng khuiah a daek te a hmuh uh.
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 Te dongah amamih kho takuem ah a yaak sak uh tih ol a haeh uh. Jerusalem ah khaw, “Tlang la cet uh lamtah olive hnah, situi thing hnah, cuihal hnah, rhophoe hnah neh thing hnah aka bu te lo uh. A daek bangla dungtlungim saii ham om,” a ti nah.
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 Pilnam te cet tih a khuen phoeiah tah amamih ham dungtlungim te a imphu ah khaw, a vongup ah khaw, Pathen im kah vongup ah khaw, tui vongka kah toltung ah khaw, Ephraim vongka kah toltung ah khaw rhip a saii uh.
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 Tamna lamkah aka mael hlangping boeih long khaw dungtlungim a saii uh tih dungtlungim ah kho a sak uh. Nun capa Jeshua tue lamloh te khohnin hil Israel ca rhoek loh ana saii moenih. Te dongah kohoenah khaw muep om khungdaeng mai.
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 Pathen kah olkhueng cabu te a hnin, hnin ah a tongcuek hnin lamloh a bawt hnin hil a tae pah. Khotue te hnin rhih a saii uh tih a hnin rhet dongah tah a khosing bangla pahong uh.
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.
