Nehemiah 5
1 [Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.
那時，在人民和他們的婦女中，發生了喊冤的大聲音，控告自己的猶太同胞。
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.”
有人喊說：「我們應以我們的兒女作質，換取食糧，吃飯生活。」
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).”
另有人喊說：「我們必須典當我們的田地、葡萄園和房屋，為在飢荒之中獲得食糧。」
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.
還有人喊說：「我們應抵押我們的田地和葡萄園，去借錢給王納稅。
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].”
然而我們的肉體與我們同胞的肉體一樣，我們的孩子與他們的孩子也相同，但我們必須叫我們的兒女去作奴婢，且有些女兒已做了奴婢；我們現下一無所能，因為我們的田地和葡萄園，已屬於別人了。」
6 I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
我一聽了他們的哀訴和這樣的話，很是悲憤。
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,
我考慮之後，遂譴責那些權貴和長官，向他們說：「你們每人竟向告自己的同胞索取重利。」為譴責他們，我召集了大會，
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].
向他們說：「我們已費盡力量，贖回來了那些被賣給異民作奴隸的猶太同胞，難道你們又要賣你們的同胞，叫我們贖回來嗎﹖」他們不出聲，也不知如何回答。
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.
我接著說：「你們作的這事實在不對! 為避免異民—我們仇敵的辱罵，你們豈不應懷著敬畏我們天主的心行事嗎﹖
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.
我和我的兄弟以及我的僕人，也都借給了他們銀錢和食糧。好罷! 我們都免除他們這債務罷!
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!”
今天就應當歸還他們的田地、葡萄園、橄欖園和房屋，並歸還由借給他們的銀錢、食糧、酒、油所獲得的重利。」
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.
他們答說：「我們都歸還給他們，不向他們索求什麼；你怎麼說；我們就怎麼行。」接著我叫了司祭來，另那些人起誓，按這話去行。
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.
我又拂拭衣襟說道：「願天主把一切不守這諾言的人，由他的房舍和他的財產中如此拂拭下去，直到將他拂拭淨盡。」全會眾都答說：「阿們。」同時又稱頌了上主。人民都履行了諾言。
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.
此外，自從我被任命為猶大省長之日起，即自阿塔薛西斯王二十年至三十二年，十二年之久，我和我的兄弟從未食過省長的俸祿。
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.
但是，在我以先的前任省長，苛待民眾，每天由民眾取四十「協刻耳」銀子，作為俸祿，並且他們的臣僕還壓迫民眾；而我因敬畏天主，並未如此行事。
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.
雖然我也從事修建城垣的工程，但並未購置過田產；我的僕人也都聚集在那裏工作。
17 Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.
有一百五十個猶太人和官員，在我那裏吃飯，還有從我們四周異民中，來到我們這裏的人。
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.
每一天應備辦一頭牛，六隻肥羊和各種飛禽，這些都由我負擔；每天又要備置大量的酒；雖然如此，我仍未索求省長的俸祿，服役的事已為這民眾夠重的了。
19 My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.
我的天主! 請記念我! 記念我為這民眾所行的一切，使我蒙福。
