Nehemiah 4
1 When Sanballat found out that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious—really mad! He made fun of the Jews
Esime Sanbalat se be míegbugbɔ gli la nɔ ɖoɖom la, edo dɔmedzoe ŋutɔ. Edzu mí, ɖu fewu le Yudatɔwo ŋu
2 in front of his colleagues and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these useless Jews trying to achieve? Do they think they can rebuild the wall? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Are they going to finish it in a day? Do they think they can re-use stones from piles of rubble and dirt, especially since they've all been burned?”
le xɔlɔ̃awo kple Samariatɔwo ƒe asrafoha la ŋkume be, “Nu ka Yudatɔ gblɔe siawo bu be yewole wɔwɔm? Ɖe wobu be yewoate ŋu agbugbɔ gli la aɖo le ŋkeke ɖeka me ne yewosa vɔ geɖewoa? Mikpɔ kpe ƒodzo siwo wole ɖeɖem le gli gbagbãwo me hegale wo ŋu dɔ wɔm ɖa!”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, standing beside him, commented, “Even a fox walking on what they're building would knock down their wall of stones!”
Tobia, Amonitɔ la tsi tsitre ɖe egbɔ, eye eya hã gblɔ fewuɖutɔe be, “Ne abei aɖe gɔ̃ hã zɔ woƒe gli dzi la, gli la amu gbloo!”
4 I prayed, “Lord, please listen to us, because we are being treated with contempt. Rain down their insults on their own heads! Let them be taken away like plunder, prisoners in a foreign land!
Ale medo gbe ɖa na Mawu be, “Oo, Aƒetɔ mía Mawu, ɖo to mí, elabena wole fewu ɖum le mía ŋu. Na woƒe fewuɖuɖu natrɔ adze woawo ŋutɔ ƒe ta dzi, eye woaɖe aboyo wo ayi dzronyigba aɖe dzi.
5 Don't forgive their guilt or blot out their sins, for they have made you angry in front of the builders.”
Mègaŋe aɖaba ƒu woƒe vodadawo dzi o, eye mègatutu woƒe nu vɔ̃wo ɖa le ŋkuwò me o, elabena wodo vlo wò, to vlododo mí, ame siwo le wò gli la ɖom la me.”
6 So we rebuilt the wall until it was all connected, reaching half its height, because the people were keen to work.
Mlɔeba la, míewu gli la nu ƒo xlã du blibo la wòkɔ abe tsãtɔ ƒe kɔkɔme ƒe afã ene, elabena dɔa wɔlawo wɔ dɔ sesĩe kple moveviɖoɖo.
7 When Sanballat and Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being filled in, they were furious.
Ke esi Sanbalat kple Tobia kple Arabiatɔwo kple Amonitɔwo kple Asdodtɔwo se be dɔa le edzi yim nyuie, eye wogbugbɔ gli la ƒe gbagbãƒewo le ɖoɖom la, wodo dɔmedzoe vevie.
8 They all plotted together to come and attack Jerusalem and to throw everything into confusion.
Woɖo be yewoatsɔ aʋakɔ aɖe aho aʋa ɖe Yerusalem ŋu, eye yewoahe ʋunyaʋunya kple tɔtɔ vɛ.
9 So we prayed to our God, and we had guards ready to defend against them day and night.
Ke míedo gbe ɖa na míaƒe Mawu, eye míedzɔ dua ŋu zã kple keli be míanɔ dedie.
10 Then people of Judah started grumbling, saying, “The workmen are exhausted. There's just too much rubble to clear. We'll never be able to finish the wall.”
Ame siwo nɔ Yuda gblɔ be, “Ŋusẽ le vɔvɔm le dɔwɔlawo ŋu, eye gli gbagbã si woli kɔe la sɔ gbɔ ale gbegbe be míate ŋu agbugbɔ gli la aɖo o.”
11 Our enemies were saying to themselves, “Before they know it, before they're aware of anything, we'll appear right in among them, kill them, and put a stop to what they're doing.”
Gawu la, míaƒe futɔwo nɔ ta me ɖom be yewoadze mía dzi, awu mí ale be míaƒe dɔ la wɔwɔ natɔ.
12 The Jews who lived close by came and told us over and over again, “They're going to attack us from all directions!”
Tete Yudatɔ siwo nɔ wo dome la va gblɔ na mí zi ewo be, “Woatso teƒe vovovowo ava dze mía dzi.”
13 So I positioned defenders behind the lowest, most vulnerable sections, of the wall. I had them take their positions by families, armed with their swords, spears, and bows.
Ale meda dzɔla siwo si yi, akplɔ kple dati nɔ la tso ƒome ɖe sia ɖe me ɖe gli la megbe le teƒe siwo gli gbagbãwo meli kɔ ɖo o.
14 After inspecting our defenses, I stood up and addressed the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, saying, “Don't be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is powerful and formidable! Fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes!”
Mebu nu si le edzi yim la ŋuti nyuie, eye metsi tsitre gblɔ na bubumewo, dɔnunɔlawo kple ame haho la be, “Migavɔ̃ na wo o. Miɖo ŋku Aƒetɔ si sẽ ŋu, eye ŋɔdzi le eŋuti la dzi ne miawɔ aʋa ɖe mia nɔviŋutsuwo, mia viŋutsuwo, mia vinyɔnuwo, mia srɔ̃wo kple miaƒe aƒewo ta.”
15 When our enemies discovered that we knew about their plan, and that God had foiled it, we all went back to our work on the wall.
Esi míaƒe futɔwo se be míenya nu tso yewoƒe ɖoɖowo ŋu, eye be Mawu ɖe yewoƒe ɖoɖowo fia mí, eye wògblẽ wo me la, mí katã míetrɔ va yi gli la ɖoɖo dzi.
16 From then on, half of my men were doing the work while the other half were ready to fight, holding their spears, shields, bows, and armor. The leaders stood behind all the people of Judah
Tso gbe ma gbe dzi la, dɔwɔlawo ƒe afã koe wɔa dɔ la, eye afã mamlɛa léa akplɔwo, akpoxɔnuwo, aŋutrɔwo kple lãnu bubuwo ɖe asi henɔa Yudatɔ,
17 who were building the wall. Those carrying materials worked with one hand, holding a weapon in the other.
siwo le gli la ɖom la megbe. Ame siwo nɔ kɔ lɔm la hã wɔa dɔ kple asi ɖeka, eye woléa aʋawɔnu ɖe asi evelia.
18 All the builders carried a sword strapped to their side, and the trumpeter stood beside me.
Ke ame siwo nɔ gli la ɖom ya ta yi ɖe ali hafi nɔ dɔ la wɔm. Ke kpẽkula ya nɔ nye axadzi.
19 Then I told the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “We have a lot to do everywhere, so we're very spread out along the wall.
Meɖe eme na bubumeawo, dɔnunɔlawo kple ame haho la be, “Dɔ la keke ta, míema ɖe eŋuti ale mía dome didi tso mía nɔewo gbɔ le gli la ŋuti,
20 Wherever you are and you hear the sound of the trumpet, run to join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
eya ta ne mienya se kpẽa ƒe ɖiɖi ko la, miƒu du va mía gbɔ afii. Míaƒe Mawu la awɔ aʋa na mí!”
21 We went on working, with half of the men holding spears from dawn until the stars came out.
Ale míeyi dɔ la wɔwɔ dzi; ŋutsu afã lé akplɔwo ɖe asi tso agudzeɣi va se ɖe esime ɣletiviwo nato.
22 I also told the people, “Everyone including servants must spend the night inside Jerusalem, so they can be on guard duty at night and work during the day.”
Megblɔ na ame siwo katã le gli la godo be woava Yerusalem du la me ale be woƒe subɔlawo nate ŋu adzɔ du la ŋu le zã me, eye woawɔ dɔ le ŋkeke me.
23 During that time none of us changed our clothes—not me or my brothers or my men or the guards with me. Everyone carried their weapons at all times, even to go for water.
Le ɣeyiɣi sia me la, mía dometɔ aɖeke, nye ŋutɔ kple nɔvinyewo kple subɔlawo kple duŋudzɔla siwo nɔ gbɔnye la, míeɖea awu ɖi o, eye aʋawɔnuwo nɔa mía ŋu ɣe sia ɣi ne míeyi tsinoƒe gɔ̃ hã.
