Nehemiah 2
1 After King Artaxerxes [had been ruling the Persian Empire] for almost 20 years, (during the spring/before the hot season) of that year, when it was time to serve wine to him [during a feast], I took the wine and gave it to him. I had never looked sad when I was in front of him before, [but on that day he saw that I looked very sad].
E dwe mar Nisan e higa mar piero ariyo mar loch Ruoth Artaksases, kane okelne divai, ne akawo divai mi amiyo ruoth. Ne pok abedo ka an gi kuyo e nyime nyaka nene;
2 So he asked me, “Why are you sad? [I know that] you are not sick. It must be that you are troubled about something.” Then I was very afraid, [because it was not proper to be sad when I came to the king] (OR, [because I was worried what the king would do to me if he refused to do what I was about to request him to do]).
omiyo ruoth nopenja niya, “Ere gima omiyo ikuyo to ok ituo? Ma ok en kuyo akuya makmana ni en mar chuny.” Ne aluor ahinya,
3 I replied, “Your majesty, I hope you will live a very long time! But (how can I prevent myself from being sad, because the city where my ancestors are buried [has been destroyed] and is in ruins?/I cannot keep myself from looking sad, because the city where my ancestors are buried [has been destroyed and] is in ruins.) [RHQ] [Even] the city gates have been completely burned.”
makmana ne awachone ruoth niya, “Mad ruoth dag amingʼa! Dabed gi mor nade ka dala maduongʼ mane kwerena oyikie omukore, kendo dhorangeyene osewangʼ gi mach.”
4 The king replied, “What do you want me to do [for you]?” I prayed [silently] to our God [who is/rules] in heaven.
Ruoth nowachona niya, “En angʼo midwaro?” Bangʼe to ne alamo Nyasach Polo,
5 Then I replied, “If you are willing [to do it], and if I have pleased you, send me to the city [of Jerusalem] in Judah [province] where my ancestors are buried, in order that I may [help people to] rebuild the city.”
mi adwoko ruoth niya, “Ka berne ruoth kendo ka jatichni oyudo ngʼwono e wangʼe, to ber mondo oora e dala maduongʼ man Juda kama kwerena oikie mondo agere kendo.”
6 While the queen was sitting beside the king, he asked, [“If I allow you to go, ] how long will you be gone? When will you return?” [I told the king how long I would be gone, and] the king gave me permission to go, and I told him what day [I wanted to leave].
Eka ruoth, kaachiel gi mikache kobedo bathe nopenja niya, “Wuodhino biro kawo thuolo maromo nade, to ibiro duogo karangʼo?” Ne berne ruoth mondo oora; omiyo ne achiwo odiechiengʼ monego awuogie.
7 I also said to the king, “If you are willing to do it, write letters for me to take to the governors of the province west of the [Euphrates] River. Tell them to allow me to travel safely [through their province] until I arrive in Judah.
Bende ne awachone niya, “Ka berne ruoth, to mad miya barupe mondo aterne jotelo man loka aora Yufrate, mondo omi gibi gimiya rit makare nyaka achopi Juda?
8 Also, [please write] a letter to Asaph, the man who takes care of your forest [in that area], telling him to give me timber to make the beams to support the gates of the fortress that is near the temple, and timber for making the walls of the city, and for building the house in which I [will live].” The king did what I requested him to do, because my God was graciously/kindly (helping/acting for) me.
Kendo mad imiya baruwa ma aterone Asaf, ma jarit yiend bunge magi, mondo obi omiya sirni migerogo dhoranga dala maduongʼ mochomore gi hekalu kendo alosgo ohinga mar dala kod ot mabiro dakie?” To nikech lwet Nyasacha ma jangʼwono ne ni koda, ruoth noyie gi kwayona duto.
9 [After I got ready, I left to travel to Judah]. The king sent some army officers and soldiers riding on horses to accompany me, [to protect me]. When I came to where the governors of the provinces west of the [Euphrates] River lived, I gave them the letters that the king had written.
Omiyo ne adhi ir jotelo man loka aora Yufrate mi amiyogi barupe ruoth. Ruoth noora gi jotend jolweny kod jolweny makedo koidho farese.
10 But when [two government officials, ] Sanballat from [a village near] Horon and Tobiah from the Ammon [people-group], heard that I had arrived, they were very angry that someone had come to help the Israeli people.
Kane Sanbalat ma ja-Horon kod Tobia ja-Amon ma jatelo nowinjo ma, negibedo kod achiedh-nade ahinya ni ngʼato osebiro madwaro kelo dongruok ni jo-Israel.
11 When I arrived in Jerusalem, I did not tell anyone what thoughts God had given to me about what I should do there. Three days after I arrived in Jerusalem, I went out of the city in the evening, taking a few other men with me. I was riding a donkey; we had no other animals with us.
Ne adhi Jerusalem, kendo bangʼ kane asetieko ndalo adek kanyo,
ne awuok gotieno kod jomoko manok. Ne pod ok anyiso ngʼato angʼata gima Nyasacha noketo e chunya mondo atimne Jerusalem. Ne onge kweth mag farese mane an godo makmana mano mane aidho.
13 We left the city, going out through the Valley Gate, then past the well called the Jackal (OR, Dragon’s) Well, and then past the gate called the Rubbish/Garbage Gate. We inspected all the walls that had been broken down and all the gates that had been burned down.
Kane ochopo otieno ne adhi kaluwo Dhoranga Holo kochiko Soko mar Thuol kod Dhoranga Owuoyo, ka anono ohingni mag Jerusalem, mane osegore piny, kod dhorangeyigi mane osewangʼ gi mach.
14 Then we went to the Fountain Gate and to the pool called the King’s Pool, but my donkey could not get through [the narrow opening] (OR, [the rubble]).
Bangʼe ne adhi nyime nyaka e Dhoranga Thidhia kod Dago mar Ruoth, makmana ne onge thuolo kama farasa ne nyalo kadhogo;
15 So we turned back and went along the [Kidron] Valley. We inspected the wall there before we turned back/around and entered the city again at the Valley Gate.
omiyo nadhi nyaka e holo gotieno, kanono ohinga. Mogik, ne alokora mi achako adonjo kendo gie Dhoranga Holo.
16 The [city] officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because I had not told anyone about what I planned to do. I had not said anything about it to the Jewish leaders or the officials or the priests or any of the others who would be helping me in the work [that I wanted to do].
Jotelo ne ok ongʼeyo kuma ne adhiyoe, kata gima ne atimo, nikech ne pod ok awacho gimoro ne jo-Yahudi kata jodolo kata joka ruoth kata jotelo kata joma moko mane biro tiyo tijno.
17 But now I said to them, “You all know very well the terrible things [that have happened to] our city. The city is ruined; even the gates are burned down. So we should rebuild the city wall. If we do that, we will no longer feel humiliated/disgraced.”
Bangʼe ne awachonegi niya, “Uneno thagruok ma wantiere godo: Jerusalem osemuki, to dhorangeyege osewangʼ gi mach. Biuru wager ohinga mar Jerusalem kendo, to ok wanachak wabed e wichkuot kendo.”
18 Then I told them about how God had kindly/graciously helped me [when I talked to the king], and what the king had said to me. They immediately replied, “Let’s start rebuilding!” So they started to do this good work.
Ne akonegi bende kuom Nyasacha ma jangʼwono mane ni koda kod gima ruoth nowachona. Ne gidwoka niya, “Wachakuru gedo kendo.” Omiyo negichako tich maberni.
19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gershom the Arab [king of the Kedar region] heard about what we planned to do, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They said, “What is this work that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king [again]?” [RHQ]
To ka Sanbalat ma ja-Horon, Tobia ma jatend jo-Amon kod Geshem ma ja-Arabu nowinjo wach gedoni, ne gijarowa kendo buonowa ka gipenjo niya, “Angʼo ma utimoni? Dibed ni ungʼanyo ne ruoth?”
20 But I replied, “Our God [who is/rules] in heaven will help our plans to succeed. But as for you, you have no right to decide anything about this city, because you have not participated in what has happened in this city in previous years.”
Ne adwokogi niya, “Nyasach polo biro miyowa loch. Wan jotichne wabiro gedo kendo, makmana un, to uonge gi pok e Jerusalem kata dwaro moro amora kata rapar moro amora kuome.”
