Nehemiah 4
1 Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews.
Cuando Sanbalat se enteró de que estábamos reconstruyendo el muro, se puso furioso, ¡muy furioso! Se burló de los judíos
2 And in the hearing of his countrymen and the army of Samaria he said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they make themselves strong? will they make offerings? will they get the work done in a day? will they make the stones which have been burned come again out of the dust?
delante de sus colegas y del ejército de Samaria, diciendo: “¿Qué pretenden estos judíos inútiles? ¿Creen que pueden reconstruir el muro? ¿Van a ofrecer sacrificios? ¿Van a terminarlo en un día? ¿Creen que pueden reutilizar las piedras de los montones de escombros y de tierra, sobre todo porque todas han sido quemadas?”
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Such is their building that if a fox goes up it, their stone wall will be broken down.
Tobías el amonita, que estaba a su lado, comentó: “¡Hasta una zorra que caminara sobre lo que están construyendo derribaría su muro de piedras!”
4 Give ear, O our God, for we are looked down on: let their words of shame be turned back on themselves, and let them be given up to wasting in a land where they are prisoners:
Yo oré: “Señor, por favor, escúchanos, porque nos están tratando con desprecio. Haz que sus insultos caigan sobre sus propias cabezas. Que se los lleven como un botín, prisioneros en tierra extranjera.
5 Let not their wrongdoing be covered or their sin washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.
No perdones sus culpas ni borres sus pecados, porque te han hecho enfadar delante de los constructores”.
6 So we went on building the wall; and all the wall was joined together half-way up: for the people were working hard.
Así que reconstruimos la muralla hasta que quedó toda unida, llegando a la mitad de su altura, porque el pueblo estaba deseoso de trabajar.
7 But when it came to the ears of Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the broken places were being made good, they were full of wrath;
Cuando Sanbalat y Tobías, y los árabes, los amonitas y los asdoditas, oyeron que la reparación de las murallas de Jerusalén avanzaba y que se estaban rellenando los huecos, se pusieron furiosos.
8 And they made designs, all of them together, to come and make an attack on Jerusalem, causing trouble there.
Todos conspiraron juntos para venir a atacar Jerusalén y para confundirlo todo.
9 But we made our prayer to God, and had men on watch against them day and night because of them.
Así que oramos a nuestro Dios, y tuvimos guardias preparados para defendernos de ellos día y noche.
10 And Judah said, The strength of the workmen is giving way, and there is much waste material; it is impossible for us to put up the wall.
Entonces la gente de Judá empezó a refunfuñar, diciendo: “Los obreros están agotados. Hay demasiados escombros que limpiar. Nunca podremos terminar el muro”.
11 And those who were against us said, Without their knowledge and without their seeing us, we will come among them and put them to death, causing the work to come to a stop.
Nuestros enemigos se decían: “Antes de que se den cuenta, antes de que se den cuenta de nada, apareceremos en medio de ellos, los mataremos y pondremos fin a lo que están haciendo”.
12 And it came about that when the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times, From all directions they are coming against us.
Los judíos que vivían cerca venían y nos decían una y otra vez: “Nos van a atacar desde todas las direcciones!”
13 So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
Así que posicioné a los defensores detrás de las secciones más bajas y vulnerables de la muralla. Les hice tomar sus posiciones por familias, armados con sus espadas, lanzas y arcos.
14 And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses.
Después de inspeccionar nuestras defensas, me puse de pie y me dirigí a los nobles, a los funcionarios y al resto del pueblo, diciendo: “¡No tengan miedo de ellos! ¡Recordad al Señor, que es poderoso y formidable! Luchad por vuestros hermanos, vuestros hijos y vuestras hijas, vuestras mujeres y vuestros hogares”.
15 And when it came to the ears of those who were against us, that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work
Cuando nuestros enemigos descubrieron que conocíamos su plan y que Dios lo había frustrado, todos volvimos a nuestro trabajo en el muro.
16 And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah.
A partir de ese momento, la mitad de mis hombres se dedicó a trabajar, mientras que la otra mitad estaba preparada para luchar, con sus lanzas, escudos, arcos y armaduras. Los líderes se colocaron detrás de todo el pueblo de Judá
17 Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other;
que estaba construyendo el muro. Los que llevaban los materiales trabajaban con una mano, y en la otra sostenían un arma.
18 Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn.
Todos los constructores llevaban una espada atada al costado, y el trompetista estaba a mi lado.
19 And I said to the great ones and the chiefs and the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spaced and we are far away from one another on the wall:
Luego les dije a los nobles, a los funcionarios y al resto del pueblo: “Tenemos mucho que hacer en todas partes, así que estamos muy repartidos a lo largo de la muralla.
20 Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us; our God will be fighting for us.
Dondequiera que estén y oigan el sonido de la trompeta, corranpara unirse a nosotros allí. Nuestro Dios luchará por nosotros”.
21 So we went on with the work: and half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen.
Seguimos trabajando, con la mitad de los hombres sosteniendo lanzas desde el amanecer hasta que salieron las estrellas.
22 And at the same time I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant come inside Jerusalem for the night, so that at night they may keep watch for us, and go on working by day.
También le dije a la gente: “Todos, incluidos los sirvientes, deben pasar la noche dentro de Jerusalén, para que puedan hacer guardia por la noche y trabajar durante el día”.
23 So not one of us, I or my brothers or my servants or the watchmen who were with me, took off his clothing, everyone went armed to the water.
Durante ese tiempo ninguno de nosotros se cambió de ropa, ni yo, ni mis hermanos, ni mis hombres, ni los guardias que estaban conmigo. Todos llevaban sus armas en todo momento, incluso para ir a buscaragua.
