Nehemiah 13

1 On that day, when someone read to the people parts of the laws [that God gave] to Moses, they read where it was written that no one from the Ammon people-group or the Moab people-group was ever to be allowed to be with God’s people while they were gathered together [to worship].

Hari itu, ketika kitab Taurat dibacakan kepada rakyat, mereka mendapati peraturan bahwa orang bangsa Amon dan Moab sama sekali tidak diizinkan untuk bergabung dalam perkumpulan penting umat Allah,

2 The reason for that was that the people of Ammon and the people of Moab did not give/sell any food or water to the Israelis [while the Israelis were going through their areas after they left Egypt]. Instead, the people of Ammon and Moab paid money to Balaam in order that he would curse the Israelis. But God commanded Balaam to bless the people, not to curse them.

karena kedua bangsa itu tidak memberi makanan dan air kepada bangsa Israel dalam perjalanan mereka keluar dari Mesir, malahan membayar Bileam untuk mengutuk Israel. Namun, Allah kita mengubah kutukan itu menjadi berkat.

3 So when the people heard these laws [being read to them], they sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.

Ketika bangsa Israel mendengar peraturan itu, mereka melarang semua orang keturunan campuran mengikuti segala perkumpulan penting umat Israel.

4 Previously, Eliashib the priest had been appointed to be in charge of the storerooms in the temple. He was a relative of [our enemy] Tobiah.

Imam Elyasib, yang bertanggung jawab atas ruang-ruang penyimpanan di rumah TUHAN, sudah lama menjadi saudara ipar Tobia. Lalu pada tahun ketiga puluh dua pemerintahan Raja Artasasta, saya kembali ke istana raja di Babel untuk melapor kepadanya. Sementara saya di sana, Elyasib mengizinkan Tobia menggunakan sebuah ruangan besar yang sebenarnya hanya boleh dipakai sebagai gudang tempat persembahan gandum-ganduman, kemenyan, perlengkapan rumah TUHAN, dan perpuluhan dari hasil panen, air anggur, serta minyak zaitun. Semua itu untuk persediaan para pelayan dari suku Lewi, yaitu para imam, pemain musik, dan penjaga rumah TUHAN. Setelah beberapa waktu di istana saya mendapat izin raja untuk kembali,

5 He allowed Tobiah to use a large room in which they had previously stored the grain offerings and the incense, the equipment that is used in the temple, the offerings [that the people had brought] for the priests, and the tithes of grain and wine and [olive] oil that [God] had commanded the people to bring to the [other] descendants of Levi, and to the temple musicians, and to the temple guards.

6 While [Tobias was using that room], I was not in Jerusalem, because in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, I went back there to report to him. After a while I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem, [and he allowed me to go].

7 When I arrived in Jerusalem, I found out that Eliashib had done an evil thing by allowing Tobiah to use a room in God’s temple.

dan sewaktu tiba di Yerusalem, saya mendapati Elyasib sudah mengizinkan Tobia menggunakan ruangan besar itu! Hal itu melanggar kesucian rumah TUHAN!

8 I became very angry, and I threw out of that room everything that belonged to Tobiah.

Maka saya sangat marah dan melemparkan semua barang Tobia keluar.

9 Then I commanded [that they perform a ritual] to make the rooms (pure/acceptable to God) again. And I also ordered that all the equipment used in the temple and all the grain offerings and incense should be put in that room again.

Saya memberi perintah supaya setiap ruang yang disalahgunakan seperti itu harus dibersihkan dengan upacara penyucian. Lalu saya memerintahkan supaya seluruh perlengkapan rumah TUHAN, persembahan gandum-ganduman, dan kemenyan dikembalikan ke sana.

10 I also found out that the temple musicians and [other] descendants of Levi had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields/farms, because the Israeli people had not been bringing to them the food [that they needed].

Saya juga mendapati bahwa para pemain musik dan orang-orang Lewi lainnya yang bertugas di rumah TUHAN sudah meninggalkan Yerusalem dan bekerja kembali di ladang mereka masing-masing karena tidak menerima tunjangan yang menjadi hak mereka.

11 So I rebuked the officials, saying to them, “(Why have you not taken care of the work in the temple?/It is disgraceful that you have not taken care of the work in the temple.)” [RHQ] So I brought the descendants of Levi and the musicians back to the temple, and told them to do their work there again.

Karena itu saya menegur para pejabat, “Kalian sudah menelantarkan rumah TUHAN!” Lalu saya memanggil kembali orang-orang Lewi dan para pemain musik untuk bekerja lagi di rumah TUHAN sesuai tugas mereka semula.

12 Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and [olive] oil.

Kemudian semua orang Yehuda kembali membawa persembahan ke rumah TUHAN, yaitu perpuluhan dari hasil panen gandum, pemerasan anggur, dan minyak zaitun.

13 I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, who was a priest; Zadok, who knew the Jewish laws very well; and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan, who is the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, to assist them. I knew that I could trust these men while they distributed those offerings to their fellow workers.

Lalu saya mengangkat beberapa orang yang dapat dipercaya sebagai bendahara yang bertanggung jawab atas gudang-gudang penyimpanan, yaitu Imam Selemya, Zadok ahli hukum Allah, dan seorang Lewi bernama Pedaya. Hanan anak Zakur, cucu Matanya, menjadi wakil mereka. Tugas mereka adalah mengawasi dan mencatat pembagian tunjangan bagi para pekerja.

14 My God, do not forget all these good things that I have faithfully done for your temple and for the work that is done there!

Saya berdoa, “Ya Allahku, ingatlah segala usaha yang sudah aku lakukan untuk memperbaiki rumah-Mu demi kelancaran semua kegiatan ibadahnya. Tetaplah berkenan kepadaku.”

15 During that time, I saw some people in Judea [who were working] on the Sabbath day. [Some were] pressing grapes [to make wine]. Others were putting grain, [bags of] wine, [baskets of] grapes, figs, and many [HYP] other things, on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem. I warned them that they should not sell things to the people of Judea on Sabbath days.

Suatu kali, saya melihat beberapa orang di Yehuda memeras anggur pada hari Sabat. Ada juga yang memuati keledai mereka dengan gandum, jelai, buah anggur, minuman anggur, buah ara, serta barang-barang lainnya. Mereka hendak menjualnya di Yerusalem. Saya pun menegur mereka agar tidak berdagang pada hari Sabat.

16 I also saw some people from Tyre [city] who were living there in Jerusalem who were bringing fish and other things [into Jerusalem] to sell to the people of Judea on the Sabbath day.

Orang-orang dari kota Tirus yang tinggal di Yerusalem juga membawa ikan dan berbagai jenis barang ke dalam kota untuk dijual kepada orang-orang Yahudi pada hari Sabat.

17 So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, “This is [RHQ] a very evil thing that you are doing! You are causing the Sabbath days to be unholy.

Maka saya menegur keras para pemimpin Yahudi yang membiarkan semua itu terjadi, “Perbuatanmu ini jahat! Kalian tidak menghormati kekudusan hari Sabat.

18 Your ancestors did [RHQ] things like that, so God punished them, and as a result, this city was destroyed! And now by causing the Sabbath day to be unholy, you are going to cause God to be angry with us Israeli people [and punish us] more!”

Karena dosa seperti inilah Allah sudah menghukum nenek moyang kita dan menghancurkan kota ini. Sekarang kalian malah mengulang lagi dosa yang membuat Allah semakin marah terhadap Israel, yaitu menodai kesucian hari Sabat.”

19 So I ordered that at (the beginning of every Sabbath day/every Friday evening) they should shut the gates of the city before it became dark. I also ordered that they should not open the gates until (the Sabbath day was ended [the next day]/Saturday evening). Then [each Sabbath day] I put some of my men at the gates, so they would make sure that nothing to sell was brought into the city on that day.

Lalu saya memberi perintah agar gerbang kota ditutup setiap menjelang Sabat, yaitu mulai Jumat petang, dan tidak boleh dibuka lagi sampai hari Sabat berakhir, yaitu Sabtu petang. Saya menempatkan beberapa pengawal saya untuk menjaga agar tidak ada barang dagangan apa pun yang dibawa ke dalam kota pada hari Sabat.

20 One or two times merchants [DOU] stayed outside of the city on (Friday night/[the night before the Sabbath day]).

Beberapa kali ada pedagang yang bermalam di luar tembok kota sejak hari Jumat, menunggu gerbang dibuka.

21 I warned them, “It is useless [RHQ] for you to stay here outside the walls [on Friday night]! If you do this again, I will tell my men to arrest you!” So after that, they did not come on Sabbath days.

Saya memperingatkan mereka, “Tidak ada gunanya menunggu di luar sana sampai pagi. Jika kalian melakukan hal ini lagi, saya akan menghukum kalian dengan berat!” Sejak saat itu mereka tidak lagi datang pada hari Sabat.

22 I also commanded the descendants of Levi to [perform the ritual to] purify themselves and to guard the city gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy [by not allowing merchants to enter it on Sabbath days]. My God, do not forget this also that I [have done for you]! And because of your faithfully loving me, allow me to continue to live [many more years]!

Saya memerintahkan orang Lewi untuk menyucikan diri dan menjaga gerbang guna memastikan agar semua orang menghormati hari Sabat. Saya berdoa, “Ya Allah, ingatlah juga perbuatanku ini, dan kasihanilah aku menurut kasih dan kesetiaan-Mu yang besar itu.”

23 During that time, I also found out that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod [city], and from [the] Ammon and Moab [people-groups].

Pada waktu itu, saya mendapati bahwa banyak laki-laki Yahudi sudah menikah dengan perempuan asing dari bangsa Amon, Moab, dan kota Asdod.

24 The result was that half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod speak or some other language, and they didn’t know how to speak our language.

Sebagian dari anak-anak mereka berbicara dalam bahasa Asdod atau bahasa asing lainnya, dan sama sekali tidak mengerti bahasa Ibrani.

25 So I rebuked those men, and I [asked God to] curse them, and I beat them and pulled out [some of] their hair. Then I forced them to solemnly promise, knowing that God [MTY] was [listening], that they would never again marry foreigners, and never allow their children to marry foreigners.

Saya menegur orang-orang itu, mendoakan kutuk atas mereka sesuai dengan sumpah yang sudah kami sahkan. Saya juga memberi mereka hukuman pukul dan mencabuti sebagian rambut mereka sebagai lambang aib sosial. Kemudian saya menyuruh mereka bersumpah demi Allah agar mereka dan anak-anak mereka tidak pernah lagi menikah dengan orang asing.

26 [I said to them], “Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned [RHQ] as a result of [marrying] foreign women. He was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him, and caused him to become the king of all the Israeli people, but his foreign wives caused even him to sin.

Saya berkata kepada mereka, “Karena perbuatan seperti inilah Raja Salomo terjerumus ke dalam dosa! Dia raja yang sangat hebat di antara bangsa-bangsa, kesayangan Allah, raja pilihan Allah, tetapi tetap saja dia jatuh ke dalam dosa akibat menikahi para perempuan asing.

27 [Do you think that] we should do what you have done, and disobey our God by marrying foreign women [who worship idols]? [RHQ]”

Apakah kalian mau mengikuti contoh buruk itu dengan menikahi perempuan asing dan tidak menaati Allah kita?”

28 One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the Supreme Priest, had married the daughter of [our enemy] Sanballat, from Beth-Horon [town]. So I forced Jehoiada’s son to leave Jerusalem.

Salah satu putra Yoyada anak imam besar Elyasib juga menikah dengan anak perempuan Sanbalat, orang asing dari kota Bet Horon. Maka saya mengusir dia dari Yerusalem.

29 My God, do not forget that those people [who have married foreign women] have caused it to be a shame/disgrace to be a priest, and have caused people to despise the agreement that you made with the priests and with the [other] descendants of Levi [who help the priests])!

Saya berdoa, “Ingatlah, ya Tuhan, bahwa mereka sudah menajiskan jabatan imam dan melanggar sumpah para imam dan orang-orang Lewi.”

30 I did all that to make sure that there were no more foreign people among the [Israeli] people [who would encourage them to worship idols]. I also established regulations for the priests and [other] descendants of Levi, in order that they would know what work they should do.

Demikianlah saya menyingkirkan segala kenajisan bangsa asing dari para imam dan orang Lewi, kemudian menetapkan tanggung jawab bagi mereka agar semua melakukan tugasnya masing-masing.

31 I also arranged for people to bring the firewood [that was needed to burn on the altar, as Moses had declared] that we should [do]. I also arranged for the people to bring the first part of what they harvested [each year]. My God, do not forget [that] I [have done all these things], and bless me [for doing them]!

Saya mengatur giliran menyediakan kayu bakar untuk kurban persembahan sesuai dengan waktu yang sudah ditentukan, dan menetapkan ketentuan untuk mempersembahkan hasil panen pertama. Dan akhirnya saya berdoa, “Ingatlah semua perbuatanku ini ya Tuhan, dan berkenanlah kepadaku.”