< Nehemija 2 >

1 Mjeseca Nisana, dvadesete godine kraljevanja Artakserksova, stajalo je vino pred kraljem. Uzeh ga i ponudih kralju. Nikada pred njim nisam bio tužan.
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
2 Tada mi kralj reče: “Što ti je tužno lice? Nisi li možda bolestan? Nije drugo nego je tuga u tvome srcu!” Ja se veoma uplaših
so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
3 i rekoh kralju: “Neka uvijek živi kralj! Kako mi lice ne bi bilo tužno kad je grad gdje su grobovi mojih otaca razoren, a vrata mu ognjem spaljena?”
and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 Kralj me upita: “Što, dakle, želiš?” Zazvah Boga nebeskoga
“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven
5 i odgovorih kralju: “Ako je kralju po volji i ako ti je mio sluga tvoj, pusti me da odem u Judeju, u grad grobova mojih otaca, da ga obnovim.”
and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
6 Kralj me upita pred kraljicom, koja je sjedila kraj njega: “Koliko bi trajao tvoj put? Kada ćeš se vratiti?” Pošto sam utvrdio vrijeme koje je odgovaralo kralju, pusti me da odem.
Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time.
7 Još rekoh kralju: “Ako je kralju po volji, mogao bih ponijeti pisma upraviteljima s onu stranu Rijeke da me propuste do Judeje;
I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.
8 i pismo Asafu, nadgledniku kraljeve šume, da mi dadne drva za gradnju vrata na tvrđi Hrama, za gradski bedem i za kuću u kojoj ću se nastaniti.” I dade mi kralj, jer dobrostiva ruka Boga moga bijaše nada mnom.
And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.
9 I dođoh tako k upraviteljima s onu stranu Rijeke i dadoh im kraljeva pisma. A kralj posla sa mnom časnike i konjanike.
Then I went to the governors west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
10 Kad to ču Sanbalat, Horonac, i sluga Tobija, Amonac, bi im vrlo mrsko što je došao čovjek da se zauzme za dobro Izraelaca.
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.
11 Stigavši u Jeruzalem, ostadoh ondje tri dana.
After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,
12 Zatim ustah noću, u pratnji nekoliko ljudi, nikomu ne povjerivši što mi je Bog moj nadahnuo da učinim za Jeruzalem; a nisam imao druge životinje osim kljuseta na kojem sam jahao.
I set out at night with a few men. I did not tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with me was the one on which I was riding.
13 Iziđoh, dakle, noću na Dolinska vrata i uputih se Zmajevskom izvoru, a zatim prema Smetlišnim vratima: razgledao sam jeruzalemski zid gdje je bio razoren i vrata koja su bila spaljena.
So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14 Nastavio sam put prema Izvorskim vratima i Kraljevskom ribnjaku, ali nisam našao prolaza za životinju na kojoj sam jahao.
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;
15 Uspeo sam se zato noću uz Potok, i dalje razgledajući zid, i ponovo sam ušao na Dolinska vrata. Tako sam se vratio,
so I went up the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I headed back and reentered through the Valley Gate.
16 a da savjetnici nisu primijetili kamo sam otišao i što sam učinio. Sve do sada nisam ništa rekao Židovima: ni svećenicima, ni velikašima, ni savjetnicima, ni drugima nadstojnicima.
The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews or priests or nobles or officials or any other workers.
17 Tada im rekoh: “Vidite u kakvoj smo nevolji: Jeruzalem je u ruševinama, a vrata mu spaljena. Hajte, sagradimo jeruzalemski zid da više ne budemo izloženi ruglu.”
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
18 I objasnih im kako je dobrostiva ruka Boga moga bila nada mnom, a saopćih im i riječi koje mi kralj bijaše rekao. “Ustanimo”, povikaše oni, “i gradimo!” I ukrijepiše im se ruke na dobro djelo.
I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me. “Let us start rebuilding,” they replied, and they set their hands to this good work.
19 Na te vijesti počeše nam se rugati Sanbalat, Horonac, i sluga Tobija, Amonac, i Gešem, Arapin. Prezirno su nam govorili: “Što radite ovdje? Hoćete li se pobuniti protiv kralja?”
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 Ali im ja odgovorih ovim riječima: “Nebeski će nam Bog dati da uspijemo. Mi, sluge njegove, ustasmo da gradimo. A vi nemate ni dijela, ni prava, ni spomena u Jeruzalemu.”
So I answered them and said, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no portion, right, or claim in Jerusalem.”

< Nehemija 2 >