Nehemiah 5
1 [Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.
Zvino kwakava nokuchema kukuru kwavarume navakadzi vavo pamusoro pehama dzavo vaJudha.
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.”
Nokuti vamwe vakati, “Isu navanakomana navanasikana vedu tiri vazhinji; kuti tidye uye kuti tigorarama, tinofanira kuwana zviyo.”
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).”
Vamwe vaiti, “Isu takaita minda yedu neminda yedu yemizambiringa uye nemisha yedu kuti zvive rubatso kuti tiwane zviyo panguva yenzara.”
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.
Vamwezve vakati, “Takatozokwereta mari kuti tiripe mutero wamambo weminda yedu neminda yemizambiringa.
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].”
Kunyange tiri venyama imwe uye tiri veropa rimwe savanhu venyika yedu, uye kunyange vanakomana vedu vakangofanana nevavo, takaguma taisa vanakomana vedu navanasikana vedu kuutapwa. Vamwe vavanasikana vedu vakatotapwa kare, asi isu hatina simba, nokuti minda yedu neminda yemizambiringa yava yavamwe.”
6 I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
Pandakanzwa kuchema kwavo kukuru nezvairehwa izvi, ndakatsamwa kwazvo.
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,
Zvino ndakazvirangarira mupfungwa dzangu ipapo ndikatsiura vakuru navabati ndikati kwavari, “Imi muri kureva mhindu kuvanhu venyika yenyu!” Saka ndakavakoka kumusangano mukuru kuti ndivarayire
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].
uye ndikati, “Napataigona napo takadzikinura hama dzedu dzechiJudha avo vakanga vatengeswa kune vedzimwe ndudzi. Zvino imi mava kutengesa hama dzenyu, kuti dzigotengeswazve kwatiri here?” Vakanyarara nokuti vakashayiwa chokutaura.
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.
Saka ndakaenderera mberi ndikati, “Zvamunoita hazvina kunaka. Ko, hamaifanira kufamba mukutya Mwari wedu here kuti vavengi vedu vechihedheni varege kutishora.
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.
Ini nehama dzangu uye navaranda vangu tiri kukweretesa vanhu mari nezviyo. Asi izvo zvokureva mhindu ngazvigume!
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!”
Vadzorerei minda yavo nokukurumidza, neminda yavo yemizambiringa, neyemiorivhi, nedzimba dzavo uyewo nemhindu yamunoripisa, chikamu chimwe chete muzana chemari, zviyo, newaini itsva uye namafuta.”
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.
Ivo vakati, “Tichavadzorera. Uye hatichazorevi chimwe chinhuzve kubva kwavari. Tichaita sezvamareva.” Ipapo ndakadana vaprista ndikaita kuti vakuru navabati vaite mhiko kuti vagoita sezvavakanga vavimbisa.
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.
Ndakazunzawo mikombero yenguo yangu ndikati, “Mwari ngaazunze saizvozvi kubva muimba yake nemidziyo yake, mumwe nomumwe asingachengeti vimbiso iyi. Naizvozvo, munhu akadai ngaazunzwe asare asina chinhu.” Ipapo ungano yose yakati, “Ameni,” uye vakarumbidza Jehovha. Uye vanhu vakaita sezvavakanga vavimbisa.
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.
Pamusoro pezvo, kubva pagore ramakumi maviri raMambo Atazekisesi, pandakagadzwa somubati wavo munyika yaJudha, kusvikira pagore rake ramakore makumi matatu namaviri, makore gumi namaviri, ini nehama dzangu hatina kudya zvokudya zvaipiwa kumubati.
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.
Asi vabati vokutanga, avo vakanditangira, vairemedza vanhu uye vaitora kubva kwavari mashekeri makumi mana esirivha, pamusoro pezvo vachitorazve zvokudya newaini. Kunyange vabatsiri vavo vairemedzawo vanhu. Asi ini handina kuita izvozvo nokuti ndaitya Mwari.
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.
Panzvimbo yaizvozvo, ndakazvipira kuita basa iri rorusvingo. Varanda vangu vose vakanga vakaungana pabasa ipapo; hatina kutombotora minda ipi zvayo.
17 Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.
Pamusoro paizvozvo, vaJudha zana namakumi mashanu navabati, pamwe chete navaHeti vaibva kundudzi dzakatikomberedza, vaidya patafura yangu.
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.
Zuva rimwe nerimwe ndaigadzirirwa nzombe imwe, makwai akaisvonaka matanhatu nehuku, uye pagumi roga ramazuva ndaipiwa waini zhinji dzemhando dzose. Kunyange zvakadaro hazvo, handina kumbokumbira zvokudya zvomubati, nokuti mitoro yakanga yakatakudzwa vanhu ava yairema kwazvo.
19 My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.
Haiwa Mwari wangu, ndirangarirei henyu nenyasha, nokuda kwezvose zvandakaitira vanhu ava.
