< Nehemija 4 >
1 Kad je Sanbalat čuo da gradimo zid, razljutio se. Bio je veoma srdit, ismijavao je Židove
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the city wall, he was very angry. He was enraged/furious. He made fun of us Jews.
2 i vikao je pred svojom braćom i samarijanskom vojskom: “Što poduzimaju ovi jadni Židovi? Kane li možda popraviti, žrtvovati i završiti sve u jedan dan? Zar će iz hrpe praha dozvati u život spaljeno kamenje?”
While his colleagues and officials of the army troops who had come from Samaria were listening, he said, “What do these feeble/pathetic Jews [think they] are doing? Do they think that if they offer enough/many sacrifices, [their gods will hear them and enable] them to finish building the wall in one day? The stones [that were in the wall previously have been weakened by] being burned in a fire. Those stones that they are pulling out of the rubbish/garbage heaps—do they think that they can make them strong again?” [RHQ]
3 Tobija, Amonac, koji je bio uz njega, reče: “Neka samo grade! Ali popne li se lisica, srušit će im kamene zidove.”
Tobiah was [standing] beside Sanballat. He said, “That stone wall [that they are building] is very weak; so if even a fox climbed up on it, the wall would fall down!”
4 Čuj, o Bože naš, kako nas preziru! Navrni njihove poruge na njihovu glavu. Predaj ih kao plijen u zemlju ropstva.
Then I prayed. I said, “Our God, hear us, because they are ridiculing us! Cause the words of their insults to fall back on them! Allow their enemies to come and capture them and force them to go to a foreign land!
5 Ne pokrivaj njihova bezakonja i grijeh njihov neka ne bude izbrisan pred licem tvojim jer su se rugali graditeljima.
They are guilty; they have [said things that] caused you to be angry while the people here who are building the wall are listening; so punish them!”
6 Tako smo gradili zid, koji je uskoro bio završen do pola visine. Narod je imao oduševljenja za rad.
But after some time, we finished building the wall around the whole city, up to half as high as the first wall had been. We were able to do that because we worked very hard.
7 Kad su Sanbalat, Tobija, Arapi, Amonci i Ašdođani čuli da napreduje popravljanje jeruzalemskih zidova - jer su se počele zatvarati pukotine - veoma se ražestiše.
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the men from Arabia, the people from the Ammon [people-group] and from Ashdod [city] heard that the work on the wall was continuing and that we were filling in the gaps in the wall, they became very angry.
8 Zakleše se svi zajedno da će napasti Jeruzalem i da će nas smesti.
They all planned to come and fight against the people of Jerusalem [MTY] and to cause trouble.
9 Mi smo tada zazvali Boga našega i postavljali smo dnevnu i noćnu stražu da bismo zaštitili grad.
But we prayed to our God [to protect us], and we put men [around the walls] to guard [the city] day and night.
10 A Židovi govorahu: “Snage su nosačima klonule, a ruševina je mnogo: nećemo nikada stići sagraditi zida!”
Then the people of [MTY] Judah started to say, “The men who are working [on the wall] are becoming very tired. There is a lot of [heavy] rubble that we must remove; we ourselves cannot finish the work.
11 A naši neprijatelji rekoše: “Uvući ćemo se među njih prije nego što doznaju i opaze nas: tada ćemo ih poubijati i tako osujetiti pothvat!”
“Besides, our enemies are saying, ‘Before the Jews see us, we will swoop down on them and kill them and stop their work [on the wall]!’”
12 A kad bi došli Židovi koji žive kraj njih, po deset bi nas puta upozoravali: “Idu protiv vas iz svih mjesta u kojima stanuju!”
The Jews who were living near our enemies came and told us many times, “You should leave the city and go to other places, in order that your enemies will not attack you!”
13 Postavili smo se u nizinama, iza zida i na goletima; rasporedio sam narod po rodovima, s mačevima, kopljima i lukovima.
So I put guards at the places where the wall was not very high yet and at places where there were gaps in the wall. I put guards to protect each of their family groups. I gave the guards daggers, spears, and bows [and arrows].
14 Kad sam vidio kako se boje, ustao sam i objavio velikašima, odličnicima i ostalom narodu ovo: “Ne bojte se ovih ljudi! Mislite na Gospoda, velikoga i strašnoga, i borite se za svoju braću, za sinove i kćeri svoje, za žene i kuće svoje!”
Then after I inspected everything, I summoned the leaders and [other] officials and [many of] the other people, and I said to them, “Do not be afraid of our enemies! Think about [what] Yahweh, who is great and glorious, [can do]! And fight to protect your friends, your families, and your homes!”
15 Kad su naši neprijatelji čuli da smo obaviješteni i da je Bog osujetio njihovu osnovu, mogli smo se vratiti k zidu, svaki svome poslu.
Our enemies heard that we knew what they were planning to do and that God had (spoiled their plans/prevented them from doing what they planned). [But we were sure that God would defend us, ] so we all started to work on the wall again.
16 Ali je od toga dana samo polovica mojih momaka obavljala posao, a ostali su držali koplja, štitove, lukove i oklope, a glavari stajali iza doma Judina,
But after that, only half of the men who were working for me worked on the wall. The others stood there on guard, holding their spears, shields, bows [and arrows], and [wearing their] coats made of metal plates. [To encourage the people] were building the wall, their leaders stood behind them.
17 koji je gradio zid. I nosači tereta držali su oružje: jednom je rukom svaki radio svoj posao, a u drugoj mu bilo oružje.
Those who carried [baskets of supplies on their heads/shoulders] and those who built the wall did their work with one hand, and held a weapon with the other hand.
18 Svaki je od graditelja, dok je radio, nosio mač pripasan uz bok. Trubač je stajao kraj mene.
All those who were building [the wall] had a dagger fastened to their side. The man who would blow the trumpet [if our enemies attacked] was standing at my side.
19 Rekao sam velikašima, odličnicima i ostalom narodu: “Posao je velik i zamašan, a mi se rasuli po zidu, daleko jedni od drugih:
Then I said to the officials, the other important men, and the other people, “This wall is very long, and we are far apart from each other along the wall.
20 skupite se oko nas na mjesto gdje čujete glas trube, a Bog naš borit će se za nas.”
If you hear the man blowing the trumpet, gather around us at that place. [Remember that] our God will fight for us!”
21 Tako smo obavljali posao od rane zore do prvih zvijezda. Polovica je bila naoružana kopljima.
So we continued to work. Half of the men continued to hold their spears all day, from when the sun rose [in the morning] until the stars appeared [at night].
22 U to sam vrijeme još rekao narodu: “Svaki sa svojim slugom neka noći u Jeruzalemu: po redu ćemo noću stražariti, a danju raditi.”
At that time, I also said to the people, “Tell every worker and his helper that they must stay inside Jerusalem at night. By doing that, they can guard us at night, and they can work [on the wall] during the daytime.”
23 Ni ja, ni moja braća, ni moji momci, ni stražari koji su me pratili nismo skidali svojih haljina, svatko je držao pri ruci svoje oružje.
During that time, none of us ever took off our clothes (OR, we wore our clothes all the time)—I and my relatives and my workers and the guards who were with me. And we had our weapons with us, in our hands.