Nehemia 6
1 Esi Sanbalat kple Tobia kple Gesem, Arabiatɔ la kple míaƒe futɔ mamlɛawo se be, esusɔ vie ko míawu gli la ɖoɖo nu, eye gbagbãƒe aɖeke megasusɔ o, togbɔ be míede ʋɔtru agboawo nu o hã la,
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).
2 Sanbalat kple Gesem ɖo du ɖem be, “Va do go mí le kɔƒeawo dometɔ ɖeka me le Ono tagba,” gake ɖe woɖo be yewoawɔ nuvevim,
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].
3 eya ta megblɔ ɖo ɖe wo be, “Mele dɔ gã aɖe wɔm! Nyemate ŋu aɖe asi le dɔ la ŋu ava o. Nu ka tae maɖe asi le dɔ la ŋu ava do go mi ɖo?”
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]
4 Woɖo du ma ke ɖem zi ene, eye nye hã meɖo ŋuɖoɖo ma ke ɖe wo ɣe sia ɣi.
They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.
5 Ke zi atɔ̃lia la, Sanbalat ɖo eƒe dɔla ɖem kple gbedeasi ma ke, eye wòlé agbalẽ si nu wometre o la ɖe asi.
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.
6 Eme nyawoe nye: “Woɖe gbeƒã le dukɔwo dome be wò kple Yudatɔwo mieɖo be yewoadze aglã, eya ta miele gli la ɖɔm ɖo. Gesem ɖo kpe edzi be ele eme. Gawu la, le nya siwo gblɔm wole nu la, esusɔ vie woatsɔ wò aɖo woƒe fiae,
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.
7 eye kura gɔ̃ hã la, èɖo Nyagblɔɖilawo be woaɖe gbeƒã nya sia le Yerusalem be, ‘Fia le Yuda si!’ Azɔ la, nutsotso sia aɖo fia gbɔ, eya ta va, ne miade aɖaŋu.”
[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.”
8 Nye ŋuɖoɖoe nye, “Wò ŋutɔ ènya be alakpa sɔŋ ko dam yele, nyateƒe aɖeke kura mele nya blibo sia me o.”
[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.”
9 Wo katã wole agbagba dzem be woado ŋɔdzi na mí hesusu be, “Woƒe alɔwo ado agblɔ le dɔ la ŋu, eye womate ŋu awu enu o.” Ke medo gbe ɖa be, “Do ŋusẽ nye alɔwo azɔ.”
[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].
10 Gbe ɖeka la, meɖi tsa yi Semaya, Delaya ƒe vi, ame si nye Mehetabel ƒe tɔgbuiyɔvi, ame si tu ʋɔ ɖe eɖokui nu le eƒe aƒe me la gbɔ, elabena egblɔ nam be, nya aɖe tso Mawu gbɔ gbɔna na ye. Esi meɖo la, egblɔ nam be, “Na míayi aɖabe ɖe gbedoxɔ la me, eye míatu ʋɔtruawo goŋgoŋgoŋ, elabena wogbɔna be woawu mí le zã sia me.”
[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.”
11 Gake meɖo eŋu nɛ be, “Ɖe ame abe nye ene masia? Alo ɖe ame abe nye ene mayi gbedoxɔ me be maɖe nye agbea? Gbeɖe, nyemayi o!”
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!”
12 Mekpɔe dze sii be, Mawu medɔe o, ke boŋ egblɔ nya ɖi nam, elabena Tobia kple Sanbalat wodɔe be wòagblɔ nya sia ɖi.
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].
13 Ɖe wodae be wòado ŋɔdzi nam ne mawɔ nu vɔ̃ to nu sia wɔwɔ me, eye woaɖe vɔ̃e nam, aƒo ɖi nye ŋkɔ.
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.
14 Medo gbe ɖa be, “O! Nye Mawu, mègaŋlɔ Tobia, Sanbalat, Noaɖia, nyagblɔɖila la kple nyagblɔɖila bubu siwo katã dze agbagba be yewoado ŋɔdzi nam la ƒe nu vɔ̃wo be o.”
[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.”
15 Míewu gli la ɖoɖo nu le ɣleti Elul ƒe ŋkeke blaeve-vɔ-atɔ̃lia gbe le ŋkeke blaatɔ̃ vɔ eve ƒe dɔwɔwɔ megbe.
On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.
16 Esi míaƒe futɔwo kple dukɔ siwo ƒo xlã mí se be míegbugbɔ gli la ɖo vɔ la, vɔvɔ̃ ɖo wo, eye dzi ɖe le wo ƒo, elabena wodze sii be míaƒe Mawu ƒe kpekpeɖeŋue na míete ŋu wu dɔ la nu.
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].
17 Le ŋkeke blaatɔ̃ vɔ eve siawo me la, agbalẽŋɔŋlɔ nɔ Tobia kple Yudatɔwo ƒe dunyahela kesinɔtɔwo dome.
During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.
18 Eva eme alea elabena Yudatɔ geɖewo ka atam na Tobia le esi toa nye Sekania, Ara ƒe vi, eye via Yehohanan ɖe Mesulam, Berekia ƒe vi ƒe nyɔnuvi la ta.
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.
19 Gawu la, wo katã woɖia ɖase nam enuenu tso eƒe dɔ nyuiwo wɔwɔ ŋu, eye wotoa nya siwo katã megblɔna la hã nɛ. Ale Tobia ɖo agbalẽwo ɖa be wòatsɔ ado ŋɔdzi nam.
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.
