< 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).
サンバラテ、トビヤおよびアラビヤ人ガシムならびにその餘の我らの敵我が石垣を築き終りて一の破壊も遺らずと聞り(然どその時は未だ門に扉を設けざりしなり)
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].
是においてサンバラテとガシム我に言つかはしけるは來れ我らオノの平野なる某の村にて相會せんとその實は我を害せんと思ひしなり
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]
我すなはち使者を彼らに遣はして言らく我は大なる工事をなし居れば下りゆくことを得ずなんぞ工事を離れ汝らの所に下りゆきてその間工事を休ますべけんやと
4 They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.
彼ら四次まで是のごとく我に言遣はしけるが我は何時もかくのごとく之に答へたり
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.
是においてサンバラテまた五次目にその僕を前のごとく我に遣はせり其手には封ぜざる書を携さふ
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.
その文に云く國々にて言博ふガシムもまた然いふ汝はユダヤ人とともに叛かんとして之がために石垣を築けり而して汝はその王とならんとすとその言ところ是のごとし
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.”
また汝は預言者を設けて汝の事をヱルサレムに宣しめユダに王ありと言しむといひ傳ふ恐くはその事この言のごとく王に聞えん然ば汝いま來れ我ら共に相議らんと
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.”
我すなはち彼に言つかはしけるは汝が言るごとき事を爲し事なし惟なんぢ之を己の心より作りいだせるなりと
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].
彼らは皆われらを懼れしめんとせり彼ら謂らく斯なさば彼ら手弱りて工事を息べければ工事成ざるべしと今ねがはくは我手を強くしたまへ
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.”
かくて後我メヘタベルの子デラヤの子シマヤの家に往しに彼閉こもり居て言らく我ら神の室に到りて神殿の内に相會し神殿の戸を閉おかん彼ら汝を殺さんとて來るべければなり必ず夜のうちに汝を殺さんとて來るべしと
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!”
我言けるは我ごとき人いかで逃べけんや我ごとき身にして誰か神殿に入て生命を全うすることを爲んや我は入じと
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].
我暁れるに神かれを遣はしたまひしに非ず彼が我にむかひて此預言を説しはトビヤとサンバラテ彼に賄賂したればなり
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.
彼に賄賂せしは此事のためなり即ち我をして懼れて然なして罪を犯さしめ惡き名を我に負する種を得て我を辱しめんとてなりき
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.”
わが神よトビヤ、サンバラテおよび女預言者ノアデヤならびにその他の預言者など凡て我を懼れしめんとする者等を憶えてその行爲に報をなしたまへ
15 On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.
石垣は五十二日を歴てエルルの月の二十五日に成就せり
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].
我らの敵皆これを聞ければ我らの周圍の異邦人は凡て怖れ大に面目をうしなへり其は彼等この工事は我らの神の爲たまひし者なりと暁りたればなり
17 During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.
其頃ユダの貴き人々しばしば書をトビヤにおくれりトビヤの書もまた彼らに來れり
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.
トビヤはアラの子シカニヤの婿なるをもてユダの中に彼と盟を結べる者多かりしが故なりトビヤの子ヨハナンも亦ベレキヤの子メシユラムの女子を妻に娶りたり
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.
彼らはトビヤの善行を我前に語りまた我言を彼に通ぜりトビヤは常に書をおくりて我を懼れしめんとせり

< Nehemiah 6 >