Nehemiæ 13
1 in die autem illo lectum est in volumine Mosi audiente populo et inventum est scriptum in eo quod non debeat introire Ammanites et Moabites in ecclesiam Dei usque in aeternum
On that day, when someone read to the people parts of the laws [that God gave] to Moses, they read where it was written that no one from the Ammon people-group or the Moab people-group was ever to be allowed to be with God’s people while they were gathered together [to worship].
2 eo quod non occurrerint filiis Israhel cum pane et aqua et conduxerint adversum eum Balaam ad maledicendum ei et convertit Deus noster maledictionem in benedictionem
The reason for that was that the people of Ammon and the people of Moab did not give/sell any food or water to the Israelis [while the Israelis were going through their areas after they left Egypt]. Instead, the people of Ammon and Moab paid money to Balaam in order that he would curse the Israelis. But God commanded Balaam to bless the people, not to curse them.
3 factum est autem cum audissent legem separaverunt omnem alienigenam ab Israhel
So when the people heard these laws [being read to them], they sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.
4 et super hoc erat Eliasib sacerdos qui fuerat positus in gazofilacio domus Dei nostri et proximus Tobiae
Previously, Eliashib the priest had been appointed to be in charge of the storerooms in the temple. He was a relative of [our enemy] Tobiah.
5 fecit ergo sibi gazofilacium grande et ibi erant ante eum reponentes munera et tus et vasa et decimam frumenti et vini et olei partes Levitarum et cantorum et ianitorum et primitias sacerdotales
He allowed Tobiah to use a large room in which they had previously stored the grain offerings and the incense, the equipment that is used in the temple, the offerings [that the people had brought] for the priests, and the tithes of grain and wine and [olive] oil that [God] had commanded the people to bring to the [other] descendants of Levi, and to the temple musicians, and to the temple guards.
6 in omnibus autem his non fui in Hierusalem quia in anno tricesimo secundo Artarxersis regis Babylonis veni ad regem et in fine dierum rogavi regem
While [Tobias was using that room], I was not in Jerusalem, because in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, I went back there to report to him. After a while I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem, [and he allowed me to go].
7 et veni in Hierusalem et intellexi malum quod fecerat Eliasib Tobiae ut faceret ei thesaurum in vestibulis domus Dei
When I arrived in Jerusalem, I found out that Eliashib had done an evil thing by allowing Tobiah to use a room in God’s temple.
8 et malum mihi visum est valde et proieci vasa domus Tobiae foras de gazofilacio
I became very angry, and I threw out of that room everything that belonged to Tobiah.
9 praecepique et mundaverunt gazofilacia et rettuli ibi vasa domus Dei sacrificium et tus
Then I commanded [that they perform a ritual] to make the rooms (pure/acceptable to God) again. And I also ordered that all the equipment used in the temple and all the grain offerings and incense should be put in that room again.
10 et cognovi quoniam partes Levitarum non fuissent datae et fugisset unusquisque in regionem suam de Levitis et de cantoribus et de his qui ministrabant
I also found out that the temple musicians and [other] descendants of Levi had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields/farms, because the Israeli people had not been bringing to them the food [that they needed].
11 et egi causam adversus magistratus et dixi quare dereliquimus domum Dei et congregavi eos et feci stare in stationibus suis
So I rebuked the officials, saying to them, “(Why have you not taken care of the work in the temple?/It is disgraceful that you have not taken care of the work in the temple.)” [RHQ] So I brought the descendants of Levi and the musicians back to the temple, and told them to do their work there again.
12 et omnis Iuda adportabat decimam frumenti et vini et olei in horrea
Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and [olive] oil.
13 et constituimus super horrea Selemiam sacerdotem et Sadoc scribam et Phadaiam de Levitis et iuxta eos Anan filium Zacchur filium Matthaniae quoniam fideles conprobati sunt et ipsis creditae sunt partes fratrum suorum
I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, who was a priest; Zadok, who knew the Jewish laws very well; and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan, who is the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, to assist them. I knew that I could trust these men while they distributed those offerings to their fellow workers.
14 memento mei Deus meus pro hoc et ne deleas miserationes meas quas feci in domo Dei mei et in caerimoniis eius
My God, do not forget all these good things that I have faithfully done for your temple and for the work that is done there!
15 in diebus illis vidi in Iuda calcabant torcularia in sabbato portantes acervos et onerantes super asinos vinum et uvas et ficus et omne onus et inferentes Hierusalem in die sabbati et contestatus sum ut in die qua vendere liceret venderent
During that time, I saw some people in Judea [who were working] on the Sabbath day. [Some were] pressing grapes [to make wine]. Others were putting grain, [bags of] wine, [baskets of] grapes, figs, and many [HYP] other things, on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem. I warned them that they should not sell things to the people of Judea on Sabbath days.
16 et Tyrii habitaverunt in ea inferentes pisces et omnia venalia et vendebant in sabbatis filiis Iuda et in Hierusalem
I also saw some people from Tyre [city] who were living there in Jerusalem who were bringing fish and other things [into Jerusalem] to sell to the people of Judea on the Sabbath day.
17 et obiurgavi optimates Iuda et dixi eis quae est res haec mala quam vos facitis et profanatis diem sabbati
So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, “This is [RHQ] a very evil thing that you are doing! You are causing the Sabbath days to be unholy.
18 numquid non haec fecerunt patres nostri et adduxit Deus noster super nos omne malum hoc et super civitatem hanc et vos additis iracundiam super Israhel violando sabbatum
Your ancestors did [RHQ] things like that, so God punished them, and as a result, this city was destroyed! And now by causing the Sabbath day to be unholy, you are going to cause God to be angry with us Israeli people [and punish us] more!”
19 factum est itaque cum quievissent portae Hierusalem die sabbati dixi et cluserunt ianuas et praecepi ut non aperirent eas usque post sabbatum et de pueris meis constitui super portas ut nullus inferret onus in die sabbati
So I ordered that at (the beginning of every Sabbath day/every Friday evening) they should shut the gates of the city before it became dark. I also ordered that they should not open the gates until (the Sabbath day was ended [the next day]/Saturday evening). Then [each Sabbath day] I put some of my men at the gates, so they would make sure that nothing to sell was brought into the city on that day.
20 et manserunt negotiatores et vendentes universa venalia foris Hierusalem semel et bis
One or two times merchants [DOU] stayed outside of the city on (Friday night/[the night before the Sabbath day]).
21 et contestatus sum eos et dixi eis quare manetis ex adverso muri si secundo hoc feceritis manum mittam in vos itaque ex tempore illo non venerunt in sabbato
I warned them, “It is useless [RHQ] for you to stay here outside the walls [on Friday night]! If you do this again, I will tell my men to arrest you!” So after that, they did not come on Sabbath days.
22 dixi quoque Levitis ut mundarentur et venirent ad custodiendas portas et sanctificandum diem sabbati et pro hoc ergo memento mei Deus meus et parce mihi secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum
I also commanded the descendants of Levi to [perform the ritual to] purify themselves and to guard the city gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy [by not allowing merchants to enter it on Sabbath days]. My God, do not forget this also that I [have done for you]! And because of your faithfully loving me, allow me to continue to live [many more years]!
23 sed et in diebus illis vidi Iudaeos ducentes uxores azotias ammanitidas et moabitidas
During that time, I also found out that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod [city], and from [the] Ammon and Moab [people-groups].
24 et filii eorum ex media parte loquebantur azotice et nesciebant loqui iudaice et loquebantur iuxta linguam populi et populi
The result was that half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod speak or some other language, and they didn’t know how to speak our language.
25 et obiurgavi eos et maledixi et cecidi ex ipsis viros et decalvavi eos et adiuravi in Deo ut non darent filias suas filiis eorum et non acciperent de filiabus eorum filiis suis et sibimet ipsis dicens
So I rebuked those men, and I [asked God to] curse them, and I beat them and pulled out [some of] their hair. Then I forced them to solemnly promise, knowing that God [MTY] was [listening], that they would never again marry foreigners, and never allow their children to marry foreigners.
26 numquid non in huiuscemodi re peccavit Salomon rex Israhel et certe in gentibus multis non erat rex similis ei et dilectus Deo suo erat et posuit eum Deus regem super omnem Israhel et ipsum ergo ad peccatum duxerunt mulieres alienigenae
[I said to them], “Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned [RHQ] as a result of [marrying] foreign women. He was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him, and caused him to become the king of all the Israeli people, but his foreign wives caused even him to sin.
27 numquid et nos inoboedientes faciemus omne malum grande hoc ut praevaricemur in Deo nostro et ducamus uxores peregrinas
[Do you think that] we should do what you have done, and disobey our God by marrying foreign women [who worship idols]? [RHQ]”
28 de filiis autem Ioiada filii Eliasib sacerdotis magni gener erat Sanaballat Horonitis quem fugavi a me
One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the Supreme Priest, had married the daughter of [our enemy] Sanballat, from Beth-Horon [town]. So I forced Jehoiada’s son to leave Jerusalem.
29 recordare Domine Deus meus adversum eos qui polluunt sacerdotium iusque sacerdotale et leviticum
My God, do not forget that those people [who have married foreign women] have caused it to be a shame/disgrace to be a priest, and have caused people to despise the agreement that you made with the priests and with the [other] descendants of Levi [who help the priests])!
30 igitur mundavi eos ab omnibus alienigenis et constitui ordines sacerdotum et Levitarum unumquemque in ministerio suo
I did all that to make sure that there were no more foreign people among the [Israeli] people [who would encourage them to worship idols]. I also established regulations for the priests and [other] descendants of Levi, in order that they would know what work they should do.
31 et in oblatione lignorum in temporibus constitutis et in primitiis memento mei Deus meus in bonum
I also arranged for people to bring the firewood [that was needed to burn on the altar, as Moses had declared] that we should [do]. I also arranged for the people to bring the first part of what they harvested [each year]. My God, do not forget [that] I [have done all these things], and bless me [for doing them]!
