Nehemiah 5
1 [Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.
Awo ekibinja ky’abasajja ne bakazi baabwe ne bakaayana nnyo olwa baganda baabwe Abayudaaya.
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.”
Abamu ku bo ne boogera nti, “Ffe, ne batabani baffe ne bawala baffe tuli bangi nnyo, tulina okufuna eŋŋaano ey’okulya okutubeezaawo nga tuli balamu.”
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).”
Abamu ne boogera nti, “Twasingawo ebibanja byaffe, n’ennimiro zaffe ez’emizabbibu n’amaka gaffe tuleme okufa enjala mu kyeya.”
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.
N’abalala ne boogera nti, “Twewola sente okusobola okusasula omusolo gwa kabaka ku bibanja byaffe ne ku nnimiro zaffe ez’emizabbibu.
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].”
Newaakubadde nga tuli omusaayi gumu ne baganda baffe, n’abaana baffe baana baabwe, kyatuleetera okuwaliriza batabani baffe ne bawala baffe okubawaayo mu buddu. Abamu ku bawala baffe twali twabawaayo dda mu busibe; kaakano tetusobola kununula bibanja byaffe ebyo kubanga abantu abalala baabitwala awamu n’ennimiro zaffe ez’emizabbibu.”
6 I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
Bwe nawulira okukaaba kwabwe n’ebigambo ebyo ne nsunguwala nnyo.
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,
Ne mbirowoozaako, ne nnenya abakungu n’abafuzi. Ne mbagamba nti, “Muggya omusolo ku baganda bammwe ne mukola amagoba!” Kyennava mpita olukuŋŋaana olunene okugonjoola ensonga ezo,
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].
ne mbagamba nti, “Twakola kye tusobola okununula baganda baffe Abayudaaya abaatundibwa mu bannamawanga, naye mmwe mutunda baganda bammwe, ffe ne tubagula okuva ku be mubaguzizza!” Ne basiriikirira, kubanga tebaalina kyakuddamu.
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.
Ne nyongera okubagamba nti, “Kye mukola si kirungi. Tekibagwanidde okutambula nga mutya Katonda waffe, okwewala okuswala mu maaso g’abalabe baffe, bannamawanga?
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.
Nze, baganda bange ne basajja bange, tuwola abantu ensimbi n’emmere ey’empeke, naye ekigambo ky’okuggya omusolo ku bantu nga kuliko amagoba kikome.
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!”
Mubaddize leero ebibanja byabwe, n’ennimiro zaabwe ez’emizabbibu, n’ez’emizeeyituuni, n’ennyumba zaabwe, ne ku misolo gye mu bawooza, mubaddize kimu kya kikumi ku nsimbi, ne ku mmere ey’empeke ne ku wayini omuggya ne ku mafuta.”
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.
Awo ne baddamu nti, “Tulibibaddiza, so tetuliddayo kubasaba kintu kyonna. Tunaakola nga bw’olagidde.” Kyennava mpita bakabona ne ndayiza abakungu n’abakulembeze okukola ebyo bye baasuubiza.
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.
Ne nkunkumula ne nsawo ez’ekyambalo kyange ne njogera nti, “Mukama Katonda akole bw’atyo ennyumba y’omuntu oyo, n’eby’obugagga bwe abimuggyeko, ataakole nga bw’asuubizza. Omuntu oyo akunkumulibwe bw’atyo aleme okusigaza ekintu!” Olukuŋŋaana lwonna ne baddamu nti, “Amiina, era Mukama yeebazibwe.” Abantu ne bakola nga bwe baasuubiza.
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.
Ate era okuva mu kiseera mwe nalondebwa okuba owessaza w’ensi ya Yuda, mu mwaka ogw’amakumi abiri ogw’obufuzi bwa Kabaka Alutagizerugizi okutuuka ku mwaka ogw’amakumi asatu mu ebiri, gy’emyaka ekkumi n’ebiri, nze newaakubadde baganda bange tetwalya ku mmere eyatugerekebwa, eyali eteekwa okuba ey’owessaza.
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.
Naye abessaza abansooka baazitoowerezanga abantu, nga babawooza ekitundu kya kilo eya ffeeza, ne bagattako emmere ne wayini. Naye nze si bwe nakolanga, olw’okutya Katonda.
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.
Ne mmalirira okukola omulimu ku bbugwe oyo, nze n’abasajja bange bonna ne twewaayo okukola ne tutadda mu kululunkanira ttaka.
17 Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.
Abantu kikumi mu ataano, Abayudaaya abaabulijjo n’abakulu, be baaliranga awamu nange ku mmeeza, okwo nga kw’otadde n’abaava mu mawanga agaatuliraananga.
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.
Buli lunaku ente emu, n’endiga ensava mukaaga n’enkoko nga tezibuzeeko bye byantegekerwanga, ne buli nnaku kkumi ne nfunanga wayini owa buli kika. Wakati mu ebyo byonna saasaba mmere eyali eteekwa okuweebwa owessaza, kubanga abantu baandizitoowereddwa nnyo.
19 My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.
Nzijukira Ayi Katonda wange, olw’ebyo byonna bye nkoledde abantu bano.
