Nehemiah 5
1 [Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.
Tsono anthu ena ndi akazi awo anayamba kudandaula kwambiri chifukwa cha Ayuda anzawo.
2 Some/One of them said, “We have many children. So we need a lot of grain to be able to eat and continue to live.”
Ena ankanena kuti, “Ife ndi ana athu aamuna ndi aakazi, tilipo ochuluka kwambiri. Choncho tikufuna tirigu kuti tidye ndi kukhala ndi moyo.”
3 Others said, “The fields and vineyards and houses that we own, it has been necessary for us to (mortgage them/promise to give them to someone if we do not pay back to him the money he has loaned us) in order to get money to buy grain, during this (famine/time where there is not much food).”
Panali ena amene ankanena kuti, “Ife tikuchita kupereka minda yathu, mitengo yathu ya mphesa ndi nyumba zathu ngati chikole kuti tipeze tirigu chifukwa njala yakula.”
4 Others said, “We have [needed to] borrow money to pay the taxes that the king [commanded us to pay] on our fields and our vineyards.
Panalinso ena amene ankanena kuti, “ife tinachita kukongola ndalama zoti tipereke msonkho wa minda ndi mitengo yathu ya mphesa kwa mfumu.
5 We are Jews just like [IDM] they are. Our children are ([just as good as/equal with)] their children. But we have needed to sell some of our children to become slaves [in order to pay what we owe]. We have already sold some of our daughters to become slaves. Our fields and vineyards have been taken away from us, so now we do not have [the money to pay what we owe, and we are forced to sell our children to get money to pay those debts].”
Ngakhale kuti ndife amodzi ndi abale athuwa, ndipo ngakhalenso ana athu ndi ofanana ndi ana awo, ife tikukakamiza ana athu kuti akhale akapolo. Ena mwa ana athu aakazi atengedwa kale ukapolo. Ife tilibe mphamvu yochitapo kanthu popeza anthu ena anatenga kale minda yathu ndi mitengo yathu ya mphesa.”
6 I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
Nditamva madandawulo awo ndi zimene amanenazi ndinapsa mtima kwambiri.
7 So I thought about what I could do about it. I told the leaders and officials [who were responsible for this work], “You are charging interest to your own relatives [when they borrow money from you]!” Then I called together a large group of people,
Nditalingalira bwino ndinatsimikiza zoti ndichitepo kanthu ndipo kenaka ndinawadzudzula anthu olemekezeka ndi akuluakuluwo. Ndinawawuza kuti, “Zoona ndithu inu nʼkumalipiritsana chiwongoladzanja chachikulu anthu apachibale nokhanokha!” Choncho ndinayitanitsa msonkhano waukulu kuti ndiwazenge mlandu
8 and I said to their [leaders], “Some of our Jewish relatives have been forced to sell themselves to become slaves of people who have come from other countries. As much as we have been able to, we have been buying them back [out of slavery]. But now you are forcing your own relatives to sell themselves to you, their fellow Jews, as slaves!” [When I said that to them, ] they were silent. There was nothing that they could say [because they knew that what I said was true].
ndipo ndinati, “Monga zakhaliramu ife tikutha kuwombola abale anthu amene anagulitsidwa ukapolo kwa anthu ena. Kodi tsopano inu mukugulitsanso abale anu kwa anzawo kuti ife tiwumirizidwe kuwawombola?” Iwo anakhala chete, chifukwa sanapeze mawu oti anene.
9 Then I said to them, “What you are doing is terrible [EUP]! You certainly ought to [RHQ] obey God and do what is right! If you did that, our enemies who do not revere Yahweh [would see that we are doing what is right and] would not ridicule us.
Kotero ndinapitiriza kunena kuti, “Zimene mukuchitazi si zabwino. Kodi inu simungakhale ndi moyo woopa Mulungu wathu kuti tipewe kunyoza kwa adani athu, anthu a mitunda inayi?
10 My fellow Jews and I and my servants have lent money and grain to people [without charging interest]. So you all should stop charging interest on these loans.
Ine ndi abale anga ndiponso antchito anga tikuwakongozanso anthuwa ndalama ndi tirigu. Ndipo tiyeni tilekeretu zolandira chiwongoladzanja!
11 Also, you must give back to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive tree orchards, and their houses that you have taken from them. You must also give back to them the interest that you charged them when they borrowed money, grain, wine, and [olive] oil from you, and you must do it today!”
Abwezereni lero lomwe minda yawo, mitengo ya mphesa, mitengo ya olivi ndiponso nyumba zawo. Muwabwezerenso chiwongoladzanja cha ndalama, tirigu, vinyo ndi mafuta zimene munatenga.”
12 The leaders replied, “We will do what you have said. We will return to them everything that we forced them to give to us, and we will not require that they give us anything more.” Then I summoned the priests, and I forced the leaders to vow in front of them that they would do what they had promised to do.
Iwo anayankha kuti, “Ife tidzawabwezera zimenezi popanda kupemphapo kanthu kalikonse kwa iwo. Tidzachita monga mwanena.” Pambuyo pake ndinayitanitsa ansembe ndipo pamaso pawo ndinawalumbiritsa atsogoleriwo ndi akuluakuluwo kuti adzachitadi zomwe analonjezazo.
13 I shook out the folds of my robe and said to them, “If you do not do what you have just now promised to do, I hope/desire that God will shake you like I am shaking my robe. He will take away your homes and everything else that you own.” They all replied, “Amen/May it be so!” And they praised Yahweh. Then they did what they had promised to do.
Ndipo inenso ndinakutumula chovala changa ndi kuti, “Chimodzimodzinso Mulungu akutumule munthu wosasunga malonjezano ake. Amulande nyumba yake ndi katundu wake ndi kumusandutsa mʼmphawi!” Apo msonkhano wonse unati, “Ameni” natamanda Yehova. Ndipo anthu aja anachita monga analonjezera.
14 I was appointed to be the governor of Judea in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was the king [of Persia]. For the next twelve years, until he had been ruling for almost 32 years, neither I nor my officials accepted [the money that we were allowed/entitled to receive to buy] food because of my being the governor.
Ndiponso kuyambira nthawi imene anandisankha kuti ndikhale bwanamkubwa wa dziko la Yuda, kuchokera chaka cha makumi awiri mpaka chaka cha 32 muulamuliro wa ufumu wa Aritasasita, ndiye kuti kwa zaka zokwana 12, ine ngakhale abale anga sitinalandire chakudya choyenerera bwanamkubwa.
15 The men who were governors before I became the governor had burdened the people by requiring them to pay a lot of taxes. They had forced each person to pay to them 40 silver coins every day, in addition to giving food and wine to them. Even their servants/officials oppressed the people. But I did not do that, because I revered God.
Koma abwanamkubwa akale ankasautsa anthu. Iwo ankalanda anthu chakudya ndi vinyo ndi kuwalipiritsanso masekeli asiliva makumi anayi. Ngakhalenso antchito awo amavutitsa anthu kwambiri. Koma ine sindinachite zimenezo chifukwa ndimaopa Mulungu.
16 I also continued to work on the wall, and I did not take land from people [who were unable to pay back the money that they had borrowed from me]. All those who worked for me joined me to work on the wall.
Ndiponso ndinadzipereka kugwira ntchito yomanga khoma la mzinda wa Yerusalemu popanda ngakhale kugulapo munda. Antchito anganso anasonkhana komweko kuti agwire ntchito ndipo sitinafunenso malo ena.
17 Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.
Kuwonjezera apa, ndinkadyetsa Ayuda, akuluakulu kuphatikizanso anthu amene ankabwera kwa ife kuchokera kwa mitundu ya anthu otizungulira okwanira 150.
18 Each day I [told my servants to] serve [us the meat from] one ox, six very good sheep, and chickens. And every ten days I gave them a large new supply of wine. But I knew that the people were burdened [by paying lots of taxes], so I did not accept [the money that I was entitled/allowed to receive to buy all this] food because of my being the governor.
Tsiku lililonse pamaphikidwa ngʼombe imodzi, nkhosa zabwino zisanu ndi imodzi pamodzi ndi nkhuku. Ndipo pakutha pa masiku khumi aliwonse pankakhala matumba achikopa ochuluka a vinyo wa mitundu yonse. Ngakhale zinali choncho, Ine sindinatenge chakudya choperekedwa kwa bwanamkubwa, chifukwa izi zinali zosautsa anthu.
19 My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.
Kuti zinthu zindiyendere bwino, kumbukirani Yehova Mulungu wanga pa zonse zimene ndachitira anthu awa.
