Nehemia 4

1 Ketika Sanbalat mendengar bahwa kami orang Yahudi sedang memperbaiki tembok kota, ia menjadi marah sekali dan mulai mengejek kami.

But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

2 Di depan rekan-rekannya dan tentara Samaria, ia berkata, "Apa yang sedang dikerjakan orang Yahudi celaka yang tidak bisa apa-apa itu? Apakah mereka mau membangun kembali kota ini? Sangka mereka pekerjaan itu dapat selesai dalam sehari, hanya dengan mempersembahkan kurban? Apakah timbunan sampah yang sudah hangus itu bisa mereka jadikan batu-batu tembok?"

He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burnt?”

3 Lalu Tobia yang berdiri di sampingnya berkata juga, "Lihat tembok yang mereka bangun! Anjing hutan pun bisa merobohkannya!"

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “What they are building, if a fox climbed up it, he would break down their stone wall.”

4 Maka berdoalah aku, "Ya Allah, dengarlah bagaimana kami dihina! Timpakanlah penghinaan itu ke atas kepala mereka sendiri. Biarlah segala milik mereka dirampok dan mereka sendiri diangkut sebagai tawanan ke negeri asing.

“Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity.

5 Jangan mengampuni kejahatan mereka dan jangan melupakan dosa mereka, sebab mereka telah menghina kami yang sedang membangun ini."

Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”

6 Sementara itu kami terus memperbaiki tembok itu, dan tak lama kemudian seluruh tembok itu selesai diperbaiki sampai setengah tinggi, sebab rakyat bekerja dengan penuh semangat.

So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 Ketika Sanbalat, Tobia dan orang-orang dari Amon dan Asdod serta orang-orang Arab mendengar bahwa perbaikan tembok Yerusalem itu makin maju dan bahwa lubang-lubang di tembok sudah mulai ditutup, mereka menjadi marah sekali.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;

8 Mereka bersepakat hendak menyerang Yerusalem untuk menimbulkan kekacauan.

and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion amongst us.

9 Karena itu kami berdoa kepada Allah kami dan menjaga kota itu siang dan malam.

But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them.

10 Tetapi orang Yehuda mulai menyanyikan lagu keluhan ini: "Tenaga kita habis untuk mengangkut muatan, sedangkan sampah masih banyak bertumpukan. Tak sanggup rasanya kita bekerja begini membangun tembok kota ini."

Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading and there is much rubble, so that we are not able to build the wall.”

11 Sementara itu musuh kami merencanakan untuk menyerang kami secara tiba-tiba, lalu membunuh kami sehingga pekerjaan kami terhenti.

Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in amongst them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”

12 Tetapi orang Yahudi yang tinggal di dekat mereka, berkali-kali datang kepada kami untuk memberitahukan rencana musuh itu.

When the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

13 Sebab itu aku membagi-bagikan pedang, tombak dan panah kepada rakyat, lalu kutempatkan mereka menurut kaumnya masing-masing di belakang tembok, di tempat-tempat yang belum selesai diperbaiki.

Therefore I set guards in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places. I set the people by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

14 Ketika kulihat bahwa rakyat takut, aku berkata kepada mereka dan kepada para pemuka serta para pemimpin, "Jangan takut kepada musuh! Ingatlah kepada Tuhan yang kuat dan dahsyat, dan berjuanglah untuk saudara-saudaramu, anak-anak, istri dan rumahmu!"

I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

15 Musuh-musuh kami mendengar bahwa rencana mereka telah kami ketahui. Maka sadarlah mereka bahwa Allah telah menggagalkan rencana mereka itu. Kemudian kami semua kembali bekerja memperbaiki tembok itu.

When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

16 Tetapi sejak hari itu hanya setengah dari anak buahku yang bekerja, sedangkan yang setengah lagi berjaga-jaga dengan berpakaian baju perang dan bersenjatakan tombak, perisai dan panah. Para pemimpin rakyat memberikan dukungan sepenuhnya kepada rakyat

From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

17 yang sedang memperbaiki tembok itu. Para pemikul bahan bangunan melakukan pekerjaan itu dengan satu tangan, sedangkan tangan yang lain memegang senjata.

Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other held his weapon.

18 Tukang-tukang batu bekerja dengan pedang terikat di pinggang. Peniup trompet tanda bahaya, terus ada di sampingku.

Amongst the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me.

19 Lalu aku berkata kepada rakyat, para pemuka dan para pemimpin, "Pekerjaan ini telah meluas sampai jarak yang jauh, sehingga kita terpencar-pencar di sepanjang tembok ini, seorang jauh daripada yang lain.

I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

20 Jadi, kalau kalian mendengar bunyi trompet, berkumpullah segera di sekeliling kami di sini. Allah kita akan berperang untuk kita."

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally there to us. Our God will fight for us.”

21 Demikianlah kami bekerja mulai dari subuh sampai bintang-bintang nampak di langit. Setengah dari rakyat memperbaiki tembok, sedangkan yang lain berjaga-jaga dengan tombak di tangan.

So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

22 Selama masa itu semua petugas dengan pembantu mereka, kusuruh bermalam di Yerusalem. Dengan demikian pada malam hari kami dapat menjaga kota dan siangnya membangun temboknya.

Likewise at the same time I said to the people, “Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labour in the day.”

23 Aku sendiri, rekan-rekanku, anak buahku dan pengawal-pengawalku selalu berpakaian kerja, baik siang maupun malam. Kami terus-menerus dalam keadaan siap siaga, dengan senjata di tangan.

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.