Esdras 4
1 Alò, lè lènmi a Juda yo avèk Benjamin yo te tande ke moun egzil yo t ap bati yon tanp a SENYÈ a, Bondye Israël la,
The enemies of the people of [the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin heard that the [Israeli] people who had returned from Babylonia were rebuilding a temple for Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli people [worshiped].
2 yo te pwoche Zorobabel avèk chèf lakay zansèt yo. Yo te di yo: “Annou bati ansanm avèk nou, paske nou, kon ou menm, ap chache Bondye pa ou a. Nou t ap fè sakrifis a Li menm soti nan jou a Ésar-Haddon, wa Assyrie a, ki te mennen nou monte isit la.”
So they went to Zerubbabel [the governor] and the other leaders, and said [deceptively], “We want to help [you build the temple], because we worship that same God whom you worship, and we have been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon, the King of Assyria, brought us here.”
3 Men Zorobabel avèk Josué ak tout lòt chèf a lakay zansèt a Israël yo te di yo: “Ou pa gen anyen ansanm avèk nou menm nan bati yon kay a Bondye nou an, men nou menm pou kont nou, nou va bati a SENYÈ a, Bondye Israël la, kon Cyrus, wa Perse la, te kòmande nou an.”
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other [Israeli] leaders replied, “We will not allow you to help us build a temple for our(exc) God. We will build it (ourselves/without your help) for Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, like Cyrus, the King of Persia, told us to do.”
4 Konsa, pèp peyi a te kòmanse dekouraje pèp Juda a, e te bay yo pwoblem bati a.
Then the people who had been living in that land [before the Israelis returned] tried to cause the Jews to become discouraged and become afraid, and to cause them to stop building the temple.
5 Konsa yo te anplwaye konseye yo kont yo pou detounen pwòp bi pa yo pandan tout jou a Cyrus yo, wa Perse la, menm jis rive nan règn Darius la, wa Perse la.
They bribed government officials to oppose what the Israelis were doing [and prevent them from continuing to work on the temple]. They did that all during the time that Cyrus was King of Persia. They continued to do it when Darius became the King of Persia.
6 Alò nan règn Assuérus la, nan kòmansman règn li a, yo te ekri yon akizasyon kont pèp Juda a avèk Jérusalem nan.
During the first year that [Darius’ son] Xerxes was king, the [enemies of the Jews] wrote a note [to the king] saying that the Jews [were planning to rebel against the government].
7 Nan jou a Artaxerxès yo, Bischlam, Mithredath, Thabeel ak tout lòt kolèg pa yo te ekri a Artaxerxès, wa Perse la. Lèt la te ekri nan lang Amareyen e livre nan lang Amareyen.
Later, when [Xerxes’ son] Artaxerxes [became the King of Persia], Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their colleagues/companions wrote a letter to him. They wrote the letter in the Aramaic language, and it was translated [into another language that the king knew].
8 Rehum, kòmandan an, avèk Schimchaï, grefye a, te ekri yon lèt kont Jérusalem a Wa Artaxerxès la, kon swivan.
Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, wrote the letter to King Artaxerxes concerning what was happening in Jerusalem.
9 Alò, ekri pa Rehum, kòmandan an, avèk Schimchaï, avèk tout lòt kolèg yo, jij yo ak gouvènè lokal yo, ofisye yo, sekretè yo, mesye Érec yo, Babilonyen yo, mesye Suse yo, sa vle di, Elamit yo,
They stated that the letter was from Rehum the high commissioner/governor and Shimshai the provincial secretary and from their associates, the judges, and other government officials, who were from Erech [city], Babylon [city], and Susa [city] in Elam [district].
10 ak tout lòt nasyon ke onorab e pwisan Onsappar te depòte e retabli nan vil Samarie ak nan tout lòt rejyon lòtbò rivyè Jourdain an.
[They also wrote that they represented] the other people-groups whom [the army of] the great and glorious/famous [King] Ashurbanipal had (deported/forced to move from their homes) and taken to live in Samaria and in other cities in the province west of the Euphrates [River].
11 Alò, sa se yon kopi a lèt sila ke yo te voye ba li a: “A wa Artaxerxès: Sèvitè ou yo, mesye nan rejyon lòtbò rivyè a.
This is what they wrote in the letter: “To King Artaxerxes, From the officials who serve you who live in the province west of the Euphrates [River.]
12 Kite li vin rekonèt a wa a ke Jwif ki te monte soti kote ou te rive kote nou an Jérusalem. Yo ap rebati vil rebèl e mechan sa a e ap fin fè miray avèk reparasyon fondasyon yo.
“Your majesty, we want you to know that the Jews who came here from your territories are rebuilding this city, [Jerusalem]. These people are wicked and want to rebel against you. Now they are repairing the foundations [of the walls/buildings] and building the walls [of the city].
13 Alò, kite wa a byen konnen, ke si vil sa a vin rebati, e miray yo konplete, yo p ap peye kontribisyon obligatwa pa yo ankò, ni tarif yo, ni frè lese pase yo, e sa va diminye fòs kès wa a.
“It is important for you to know that if they rebuild the city and finish building the walls, they will stop paying any kind of taxes. As a result, there will be less money in your treasury.
14 Alò, akoz nou nan sèvis palè a, e se pa pwòp pou nou ta wè derespektan kont wa a; pou sa a, nou te voye enfòme wa a,
Now, because we are loyal to [IDM] you, and because we do not want you to be humiliated [IDM], we are sending this information to you.
15 pou ou kab fè rechèch nan achiv a papa zansèt pa ou yo. Konsa, ou va dekouvri nan rekò ansyen yo ke vil sila a se yon vil rebelyon, ki konn fè donmaj a wa yo avèk pwovens yo, e ke yo te pwovoke revolisyon ladann nan tan pase yo. Se pou rezon sa a, ke vil sa a te vin detwi nèt konsa.
And, we suggest that you order/tell [your officials] to search the records that your ancestors made/wrote. [If you do that], you will find out that the people in this city have always rebelled [against the government]. You will also find out that from long ago these people have caused trouble for kings and for rulers of provinces. They have always revolted [against those who ruled them]. That is the reason that this city was destroyed [by the Babylonian army].
16 Nou enfòme wa a ke si vil sa a rebati e miray yo konplete; akoz sa a, ou p ap ankò posede anyen nan pwovens lòtbò larivyè Jourdain an.”
We want you to know that if they rebuild this city and finish building its walls, you will no longer be able to control/rule [the people in] this province west of the Euphrates [River].”
17 Wa a te voye reponn a Rehum, kòmandan a Schimschaï, grefye a ak tout lòt kolèg pa yo ki te rete Samarie, ak nan tout lòt pwovens ki te lòtbò Rivyè Jourdain an: Lapè.
[After] the king [read this letter, he] sent this reply to them: “To Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, and their colleagues in Samaria and in other parts of the province that is west of the [Euphrates] River: I (send you my greetings/wish that things will go well for you).
18 Dokiman ke nou te voye bannou an te tradwi ak li devan m.
The letter that you sent to me was translated and read to me.
19 Mwen te fè yon dekrè, rechèch te fèt e li te dekouvri ke vil sa a te konn leve kont wa yo nan jou pase yo, ke rebelyon avèk revolisyon te konn fèt ladann,
So then I ordered [my officials] to search the records. I have found out that [it is true that] the people of that city have always revolted against their rulers, and that the city is full of people who have rebelled and caused trouble.
20 ke wa pwisan pa yo te konn gouvène tout pwovens lòtbò larivyè yo e ke kontribisyon obligatwa yo, tarif yo, e lese pase yo te konn peye a yo menm.
Powerful kings have ruled in Jerusalem, and they have also ruled over the whole province west of the [Euphrates] River. [The people in that province were] paying all kinds of taxes to those kings.
21 Pou sa, pibliye yon dekrè pou fè mesye sila yo sispann travay la pou vil sila a pa rebati jiskaske yon dekrè pibliye pa mwen menm.
So you must command that the people must stop rebuilding the city. Only if I tell them [that they may rebuild it] will they be allowed to continue.
22 Veye ke nou pa lach nan akonpli bagay sa a. Poukisa nou ta kite donmaj ki p ap nan avantaj a wa yo vin plis?
Do this immediately [LIT], because I do not want those people to do anything to harm the things/area about which I am concerned.”
23 Depi lè kopi a dekrè a wa Artaxerxès te li devan Rehum avèk Schimschaï, grefye a avèk kolèg parèy a yo, yo te ale byen vit Jérusalem kote Jwif yo, e te fè yo sispann pa fòs a zam.
[Messengers took] that letter to Rehum and Shimshai and their colleagues and read it to them. Then Rehum and the others went quickly to Jerusalem, and they forced the Jews to stop [rebuilding the city wall].
24 Alò, travay lakay Bondye Jérusalem nan te sispann jis rive nan dezyèm ane a Darius, wa Perse la.
The result was that the Jews stopped rebuilding the temple. They did not do any more work to rebuild the temple until Darius became the King of Persia.
