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].
In die autem illo, lectum est in volumine Moysi, audiente populo: et inventum est scriptum in eo, quod non debeant introire Ammonites et Moabites in ecclesiam Dei usque in æternum:
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.
eo quod non occurrerint filiis Israël cum pane et aqua, et conduxerint adversum eos Balaam ad maledicendum eis: et convertit Deus noster maledictionem in benedictionem.
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.
Factum est autem, cum audissent legem, separaverunt omnem alienigenam ab Israël.
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.
Et super hoc erat Eliasib sacerdos, qui fuerat præpositus in gazophylacio domus Dei nostri, et proximus Tobiæ.
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.
Fecit ergo sibi gazophylacium grande, et ibi erant ante eum reponentes munera, et thus, et vasa, et decimam frumenti, vini, et olei, partes Levitarum, et cantorum, et janitorum, et primitias sacerdotales.
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].
In omnibus autem his non fui in Jerusalem, quia anno trigesimo secundo Artaxerxis regis Babylonis veni ad regem, et in fine dierum rogavi regem.
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.
Et veni in Jerusalem, et intellexi malum quod fecerat Eliasib Tobiæ, ut faceret ei thesaurum in vestibulis domus Dei.
8 I became very angry, and I threw out of that room everything that belonged to Tobiah.
Et malum mihi visum est valde. Et projeci vasa domus Tobiæ foras de gazophylacio:
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.
præcepique et emundaverunt gazophylacia: et retuli ibi vasa domus Dei, sacrificium, et thus.
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].
Et cognovi quod partes Levitarum non fuissent datæ, et fugisset unusquisque in regionem suam de Levitis, et cantoribus, et de his qui ministrabant:
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.
et egi causam adversus magistratus, et dixi: Quare dereliquimus domum Dei? et congregavi eos, et feci stare in stationibus suis.
12 Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and [olive] oil.
Et omnis Juda apportabat decimam frumenti, vini, et olei, in horrea.
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.
Et constituimus super horrea Selemiam sacerdotem, et Sadoc scribam, et Phadaiam de Levitis, et juxta eos Hanan filium Zachur, filium Mathaniæ: quoniam fideles comprobati sunt, et ipsis creditæ sunt partes fratrum suorum.
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!
Memento mei, Deus meus, pro hoc, et ne deleas miserationes meas quas feci in domo Dei mei, et in cæremoniis ejus.
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.
In diebus illis vidi in Juda calcantes torcularia in sabbato, portantes acervos, et onerantes super asinos vinum, et uvas, et ficus, et omne onus, et inferentes in Jerusalem, die sabbati. Et contestatus sum ut in die qua vendere liceret, venderent.
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.
Et Tyrii habitaverunt in ea, inferentes pisces, et omnia venalia: et vendebant in sabbatis filiis Juda in Jerusalem.
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.
Et objurgavi optimates Juda, et dixi eis: Quæ est hæc res mala quam vos facitis, et profanatis diem sabbati?
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!”
numquid non hæc fecerunt patres nostri, et adduxit Deus noster super nos omne malum hoc, et super civitatem hanc? et vos additis iracundiam super Israël violando sabbatum.
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.
Factum est autem, cum quievissent portæ Jerusalem in die sabbati, dixi: et clauserunt januas, et præcepi ut non aperirent eas usque post sabbatum: et de pueris meis constitui super portas, ut nullus inferret onus in die sabbati.
20 One or two times merchants [DOU] stayed outside of the city on (Friday night/[the night before the Sabbath day]).
Et manserunt negotiatores, et vendentes universa venalia, foris Jerusalem semel et bis.
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.
Et contestatus sum eos, et dixi eis: Quare manetis ex adverso muri? si secundo hoc feceritis, manum mittam in vos. Itaque ex tempore illo non venerunt in sabbato.
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]!
Dixi quoque Levitis ut mundarentur, et venirent ad custodiendas portas, et sanctificandam diem sabbati: et pro hoc ergo memento mei, Deus meus, et parce mihi secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum.
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].
Sed et in diebus illis vidi Judæos ducentes uxores Azotidas, Ammonitidas, et Moabitidas.
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.
Et filii eorum ex media parte loquebantur azotice, et nesciebant loqui judaice, et loquebantur juxta linguam populi et populi.
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.
Et objurgavi eos, et maledixi. Et cecidi ex eis viros, et decalvavi eos, et adjuravi in Deo ut non darent filias suas filiis eorum, et non acciperent de filiabus eorum filiis suis et sibimetipsis, dicens:
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.
Numquid non in hujuscemodi re peccavit Salomon rex Israël? et certe in gentibus multis non erat rex similis ei, et dilectus Deo suo erat, et posuit eum Deus regem super omnem Israël: et ipsum ergo duxerunt ad peccatum mulieres alienigenæ.
27 [Do you think that] we should do what you have done, and disobey our God by marrying foreign women [who worship idols]? [RHQ]”
Numquid et nos inobedientes faciemus omne malum grande hoc ut prævaricemur in Deo nostro, et ducamus uxores peregrinas?
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.
De filiis autem Jojada filii Eliasib sacerdotis magni, gener erat Sanaballat Horonites, quem fugavi a me.
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])!
Recordare, Domine Deus meus, adversum eos qui polluunt sacerdotium, jusque sacerdotale et Leviticum.
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.
Igitur mundavi eos ab omnibus alienigenis, et constitui ordines sacerdotum et Levitarum, unumquemque in ministerio suo:
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]!
et in oblatione lignorum in temporibus constitutis, et in primitivis: memento mei, Deus meus, in bonum. Amen.
