Nehemiah 6

1 Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and our other enemies heard [a report] that we had finished rebuilding the wall, and that now there were no more (gaps/places where the wall was not finished) (although we had not yet put the doors in the gates).

OR quando Samballat, e Tobia, e Ghesem Arabo, e gli altri nostri nemici, ebbero inteso che io avea riedificate le mura, e che non vi era restata alcuna rottura (quantunque fino a quel tempo io non avessi poste le reggi alle porte),

2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent [a message] to me, in which they said “Come and talk with us at a place in Ono Plain [north of Jerusalem].” But [I knew that] really they wanted to harm me [if I went there].

Sanballat e Ghesem mi mandarono a dire: Vieni, troviamci insieme in alcuna delle ville della valle di Ono. Or essi macchinavano di farmi del male.

3 So I sent messengers to them, to tell them, “I am doing an important work, and I cannot go down [there]. (Why should I stop doing this work just to go down to [talk with] you?/I do not want to stop doing this work just to go down to [talk with] you.)” [RHQ]

Ed io mandai loro de' messi, per dir loro: Io fo una grande opera, e non posso [andarvi]; perchè cesserebbe l'opera, tosto che io l'avrei lasciata, e sarei andato da voi?

4 They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.

Ed essi mi mandarono [a dire] la stessa cosa quattro volte; ed io feci loro la medesima risposta.

5 Then Sanballat sent one of his servants to me, bringing a fifth message. This one was written, but it was not sealed. [He did that in order that others would read the message that the servant was carrying] in his hand.

E Sanballat mi mandò il suo servitore [a dirmi] la medesima cosa la quinta volta; e [quel servitore avea] una lettera aperta in mano;

6 This is what was written in the message: “Some people in the nearby countries have heard a report that you and the other Jews are rebuilding the wall [in order to be able to resist attacks], because you are planning to revolt [against the king of Babylon]. And the report also says that you are planning to become the king [of the Israelis]. Geshem says that what they have reported is true.

nella quale [era] scritto: Ei s'intende fra queste genti, e Gasmu dice, che tu e i Giudei deliberate di ribellarvi; [e che] perciò tu riedifichi le mura; e secondo ciò che se ne dice, tu diventi lor re.

7 [People are also saying that] you have appointed some prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem that you, [Nehemiah, ] are now the king in Judea. King [Artaxerxes] will certainly hear these reports, [and then you will be in big trouble]. So I suggest that we should meet together to talk about this matter.”

Ed anche, che tu hai costituiti de' profeti, per predicar di te in Gerusalemme, dicendo: Ei [v'è] un re in Giuda. Or queste cose perverranno agli orecchi del re; ora dunque, vieni, e prendiamo consiglio insieme.

8 [When I read that message, ] I sent [the messenger] back to Sanballat to say, “None of what you are saying is true. You have (made this up/concocted this) in your own head/mind.”

Ma io gli mandai a dire: Queste cose che tu dici non sono; ma tu le fingi da te stesso.

9 [I said that because I knew that] they were trying to cause us to be afraid, with the result that we would stop working [on the wall]. So I actually became more determined (OR, I prayed to God to help me) [to continue the work].

Perciocchè essi tutti ci spaventavano, dicendo: Le lor mani si rallenteranno, e lasceranno l'opera, sì che non si farà. Ora dunque, [o Dio], fortifica le mie mani.

10 [One day] I went to talk with Shemaiah, son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel. I went to talk with him in his house, because he was not able (OR, allowed) to leave his house. He said to me, “You and I must enter the very sacred place in the temple and lock the doors, because people are going to come to kill you at night.”

Oltre a ciò, essendo io entrato in casa di Semaia, figliuolo di Delaia, figliuolo di Mehetabeel, il quale era rattenuto, egli [mi] disse: Riduciamoci insieme nella Casa di Dio, dentro al Tempio, e serriamo le porte del Tempio; perciocchè coloro vengono per ucciderti; e per questo effetto arriveranno di notte.

11 I replied, “I (am not that kind of person/do not do things like that) [RHQ]! I would not run and hide in the temple to save my life! No, I will not do that!”

Ma io risposi: Un uomo par mio fuggirebbe egli? e qual [sarebbe] il par mio ch'entrasse nel Tempio, per salvar la sua vita? Io non [vi] entrerò.

12 When I thought [about what he had said], I realized that God had not told Shemaiah to say that to me. I realized that Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him [to say that to me].

Ed io riconobbi che Iddio non l'avea mandato; perciocchè avea pronunziata quella profezia contro a me; e che Tobia e Sanballat gli davano pensione;

13 They had bribed him to cause me to be afraid. They wanted me to [disobey God’s commands and] sin [by hiding in the temple]. If I did that, they would be able to ruin my reputation [MTY] and discredit me.

acciocchè fosse [loro] pensionario, per fare che io mi spaventassi, e facessi così [come egli diceva], e commettessi peccato; onde avessero alcun soggetto di spargere alcuna cattiva fama, per vituperarmi.

14 [So I prayed, ] “My God, do not forget what Tobiah and Sanballat have done. Punish them. And do not forget that the female prophet Noadiah and some of the other prophets have also tried to cause me to be afraid.”

Ricordati, o Dio mio, di Tobia, e di Sanballat, secondo quest'opere di ciascun di loro. [Ricordati] anche della profetessa Noadia, e degli altri profeti che hanno cercato di spaventarmi.

15 On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.

Or le mura furono finite al venticinquesimo [giorno] di Elul, nello spazio di cinquantadue giorni.

16 When our enemies in the nearby countries heard about that, they realized that they had been humiliated, because everyone knew that it was because God helped us that we had been able to do this work [and that they had not been able to force us to quit].

E, quando tutti i nostri nemici ebbero [ciò] inteso, e tutte le nazioni ch'[erano] d'intorno a noi l'ebber veduto, si videro grandemente scaduti; e riconobbero che quest'opera era stata fatta dall'Iddio nostro.

17 During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.

A que' dì ancora andavano e venivano lettere di molti notabili di Giuda a Tobia, e di esso a loro.

18 Many people in Judea were closely associated with Tobiah, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah. Furthermore, Tobiah’s son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berekiah.

Perciocchè molti in Giuda [erano] in giuramento con lui; conciossiachè egli [fosse] genero il Secania, figliuolo di Ara; e Iohanan, suo figliuolo, avea presa per moglie la figliuola di Mesullam, figliuolo di Berechia.

19 People often talked in my presence about all the good things that Tobiah had done, and then they would tell him everything that I said. So Tobiah sent many letters to me to try to cause me to become afraid.

Ed anche in presenza mia raccontavano le sue virtù, e gli palesavano i miei ragionamenti. [E] Tobia mandava lettere per ispaventarmi.