Neyemi 5
1 Mibali elongo na basi na bango bayimaki-yimaki makasi mpo na kotelemela bandeko na bango, Bayuda.
[Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.
2 Bamoko bazalaki koloba: — Biso elongo na bana na biso ya mibali mpe ya basi, tozali ebele; tozali na posa ya ble oyo ekoki na motango na biso mpo ete tolia mpe towumela na bomoi.
Some/One of them said, “We have many children. So we need a lot of grain to be able to eat and continue to live.”
3 Bamosusu bazalaki mpe koloba: — Tozali kosimbisa bilanga na biso, bilanga na biso ya vino mpe bandako na biso lokola ndanga mpo na kozwa ble na tango ya nzala makasi.
Others said, “The fields and vineyards and houses that we own, it has been necessary for us to (mortgage them/promise to give them to someone if we do not pay back to him the money he has loaned us) in order to get money to buy grain, during this (famine/time where there is not much food).”
4 Bamosusu lisusu bazalaki koloba: — Topesaki bilanga na biso mpe bilanga na biso ya vino lokola ndanga mpo na kodefa mbongo ya kofuta mpako ya mokonzi.
Others said, “We have [needed to] borrow money to pay the taxes that the king [commanded us to pay] on our fields and our vineyards.
5 Nzokande tozali nzoto moko mpe makila moko na bandeko na biso, mpe bana na biso bakeseni te na bana na bango; kasi tala ndenge nini tosili kosambwa: tosengeli koteka bana na biso ya mibali mpe ya basi lokola bawumbu; mpe bana na biso mosusu ya basi bakomi bawumbu, mpe tozangi nguya ya kosikola bango, mpo ete bilanga na biso mpe bilanga na biso ya vino ekomi ya bato mosusu!
We are Jews just like [IDM] they are. Our children are ([just as good as/equal with)] their children. But we have needed to sell some of our children to become slaves [in order to pay what we owe]. We have already sold some of our daughters to become slaves. Our fields and vineyards have been taken away from us, so now we do not have [the money to pay what we owe, and we are forced to sell our children to get money to pay those debts].”
6 Tango nayokaki koyimayima na bango mpe maloba wana nyonso, nasilikaki makasi.
I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
7 Nazwaki mokano ya kopamela bakambi mpe bankumu; nalobaki na bango: — Tango bodefisaka bandeko na bino, bosengaka bango mileki! Bozali nde komemisa bandeko na bino moko mokumba monene boye! Nabengisaki mayangani moko ya monene mpo na kolobela makambo yango elongo na bango.
So I thought about what I could do about it. I told the leaders and officials [who were responsible for this work], “You are charging interest to your own relatives [when they borrow money from you]!” Then I called together a large group of people,
8 Nalobaki na bango: — Biso, kolanda makoki na biso, tosikolaki bandeko na biso, Bayuda, oyo batekamaki epai ya bapagano. Kasi bino sik’oyo, bozali bino moko koteka bandeko na bino, mpe bozali koteka bango kaka epai ya bato ya ekolo na biso! Bavandaki kimia mpe bazangaki liloba ya kozongisa.
and I said to their [leaders], “Some of our Jewish relatives have been forced to sell themselves to become slaves of people who have come from other countries. As much as we have been able to, we have been buying them back [out of slavery]. But now you are forcing your own relatives to sell themselves to you, their fellow Jews, as slaves!” [When I said that to them, ] they were silent. There was nothing that they could say [because they knew that what I said was true].
9 Nabakisaki: — Makambo oyo bozali kosala ezali malamu te. Bosengelaki te kotambola na kotosa Nzambe na biso mpo ete topesa te na bapagano oyo bazali banguna na biso nzela ya kotiola biso?
Then I said to them, “What you are doing is terrible [EUP]! You certainly ought to [RHQ] obey God and do what is right! If you did that, our enemies who do not revere Yahweh [would see that we are doing what is right and] would not ridicule us.
10 Ngai, bandeko na ngai mpe basali na ngai, todefisaki bango mbongo mpe ble. Nabondeli bino, totikela bango niongo yango!
My fellow Jews and I and my servants have lent money and grain to people [without charging interest]. So you all should stop charging interest on these loans.
11 Bozongisela bango na lombangu bilanga na bango, bilanga na bango ya vino, bilanga na bango ya banzete ya olive mpe bandako na bango; mpe botikela bango eteni ya nkama moko ya mbongo, ya ble, ya vino ya sika mpe ya mafuta oyo bokatelaki bango lokola mileki.
Also, you must give back to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive tree orchards, and their houses that you have taken from them. You must also give back to them the interest that you charged them when they borrowed money, grain, wine, and [olive] oil from you, and you must do it today!”
12 Bazongisaki: — Tokosala ndenge olobi, tokozongisa yango mpe tokosenga bango lisusu eloko moko te na likolo. Bongo nabengisaki Banganga-Nzambe; mpe nasengaki na bakambi mpe bakalaka ete balapa ndayi, liboso ya Banganga-Nzambe, ete bakosala ndenge balaki.
The leaders replied, “We will do what you have said. We will return to them everything that we forced them to give to us, and we will not require that they give us anything more.” Then I summoned the priests, and I forced the leaders to vow in front of them that they would do what they had promised to do.
13 Mpe napupolaki songe ya nzambala na ngai na koloba: — Tika ete Nzambe apupola ndenge ngai nazali kosala mpe abengana, mosika ya ndako na ye mpe ya biloko na ye, moto nyonso oyo akokokisa te elaka na ye; mpe tika ete bapupola ye ndenge wana mpe atikala maboko pamba! Lisanga mobimba ezongisaki: — Amen! Bakumisaki Yawe mpe bakokisaki makambo oyo balakaki.
I shook out the folds of my robe and said to them, “If you do not do what you have just now promised to do, I hope/desire that God will shake you like I am shaking my robe. He will take away your homes and everything else that you own.” They all replied, “Amen/May it be so!” And they praised Yahweh. Then they did what they had promised to do.
14 Wuta mokolo oyo mokonzi akomisaki ngai moyangeli kati na mokili ya Yuda, elingi koloba: kobanda na mobu ya tuku mibale ya bokonzi ya Aritakizerisesi kino na mobu ya tuku misato na mibale, elekaki mibu zomi na mibale, ezala ngai to bandeko na ngai, totikalaki mokolo moko te kobika na mpako oyo bapesaka na moyangeli.
I was appointed to be the governor of Judea in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was the king [of Persia]. For the next twelve years, until he had been ruling for almost 32 years, neither I nor my officials accepted [the money that we were allowed/entitled to receive to buy] food because of my being the governor.
15 Nzokande, bayangeli oyo bakambaki liboso na ngai bazalaki konyokola bato mpe kosenga na makasi ete bapesa bilei, vino mpe mbongo ya bibende ya palata, tuku minei. Ezala bakalaka na bango mpe bazalaki kaka konyokola bato. Kasi ngai, natikalaki kosala bongo te, pamba te nazalaki kotosa Nzambe.
The men who were governors before I became the governor had burdened the people by requiring them to pay a lot of taxes. They had forced each person to pay to them 40 silver coins every day, in addition to giving food and wine to them. Even their servants/officials oppressed the people. But I did not do that, because I revered God.
16 Kutu, namipesaki lisusu koleka na mosala ya kobongisa mir oyo; basali na ngai nyonso bamipesaki mpe na mosala mpe totikalaki kosomba ata eteni moko te ya mabele.
I also continued to work on the wall, and I did not take land from people [who were unable to pay back the money that they had borrowed from me]. All those who worked for me joined me to work on the wall.
17 Na mesa na ngai, bato nkama moko na tuku mitano, Bayuda mpe bakalaka, bazalaki kolia elongo na bato oyo bazalaki koya epai na biso wuta na bikolo ya bapaya ya zingazinga.
Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.
18 Mikolo nyonso, bazalaki kolambela ngai ngombe moko ya mobali, meme motoba ya malamu mpe basoso; mpe sima na mikolo zomi nyonso, bazalaki koya kotikela ngai vino ebele. Atako bongo, natikalaki kosenga eloko moko te kati na biloko oyo esengeli mpo na moyangeli, pamba te mokumba ya misala ezalaki makasi na mito ya bato.
Each day I [told my servants to] serve [us the meat from] one ox, six very good sheep, and chickens. And every ten days I gave them a large new supply of wine. But I knew that the people were burdened [by paying lots of taxes], so I did not accept [the money that I was entitled/allowed to receive to buy all this] food because of my being the governor.
19 Oh Nzambe na ngai, kanisa ngai mpe talisa ngai ngolu na Yo mpo na nyonso oyo nasili kosala mpo na bato oyo!
My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.
