Nekkemiya 6
1 Awo Sanubalaati, ne Tobiya ne Gesemu Omuwalabu n’abalabe baffe abalala bwe baawulira nga nzimbye bbugwe era nga tewali mabanga gaasigalamu, newaakubadde nga twali tetunateekamu nzigi mu miryango,
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 Sanubalaati ne Gesemu ne bampeereza obubaka nti, “Jjangu tusisinkane mu kyalo ekimu eky’omu lusenyi lwa Ono.” Naye ekigendererwa kyabwe kyali kundeetako kabi.
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 Kyennava mbatumira ababaka okubategeeza nti, “Nnina omulimu munene, siisobole kuserengeta gye muli. Lwaki ndeka omulimu ne nzija okubasisinkana?”
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 Ne baweereza obubaka bwe bumu emirundi ena, buli mulundi ne mbaddangamu mu ngeri y’emu.
They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.
5 Awo Sanubalaati n’antumira omuddu we omulundi ogwokutaano n’ebbaluwa etaali nsibe mu mukono gwe,
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 ng’erimu ebigambo bino nti, “Tuwulidde mu mawanga, era ne Gesemu akirinako obukakafu, nga ggwe n’Abayudaaya, mweteeseteese okujeema era kyemuvudde muzimba bbugwe, era n’olugambo luyitayita nga ggwe olina enteekateeka ey’okufuuka kabaka waabwe.
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 Kigambibwa nga walonda bannabbi mu Yerusaalemi okukulangiririra nti, ‘Mu Yuda mulimu kabaka.’ Noolwekyo obubaka obwo nga tebunatwalibwa eri kabaka, jjangu tukkiriziganye ku nsonga eyo.”
[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 Ne muweereza obubaka nga ŋŋamba nti, “Tewabanga kigambo bwe kityo ku byoyogedde; ogunja bigunje okuva mu mutima gwo.”
[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 Bonna baali bagezaako okututiisatiisa, nga balowooza nti, “Emikono gyabwe girinafuwa omulimu ne gulema okuggwa.” Naye ne nsaba nti, “Ayi Katonda, nyweza emikono gyaffe.”
[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 Olunaku olumu ne ŋŋenda mu nnyumba ya Semaaya mutabani wa Deraaya, muzzukulu wa Meketaberi; yali yeesibidde mu nnyumba, n’aŋŋamba nti, “Tusisinkane mu nnyumba ya Katonda, mu yeekaalu munda, tuggalewo enzigi za yeekaalu, kubanga bajja okukutta, ekiro kino bajja kukutta.”
[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 Naye ne nziramu nti, “Omusajja nga nze nnyinza okudduka? Kiki ekitwala omusajja afaanana nga nze mu yeekaalu okuwonya obulamu bwange? Sijja kugenda yo.”
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 Ne nkizuula nga Katonda yali tamutumye, naye yali antegeeza ebigambo ebyo kubanga Tobiya ne Sanubalaati baamugulirira.
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 Bamugulirira okuntiisatiisa n’okunkozesa ekyo nnyonoone, balyoke boonoone erinnya lyange nga banjogerako ebigambo ebya swakaba.
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 Ayi Katonda wange ojjukire Tobiya ne Sanubalaati olw’ebikolwa ebyo, era ojjukire ne Nowadiya nnabbi omukazi ne bannabbi abalala abaagezaako okuntiisatiisa.
[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 Bbugwe n’aggwa okukola ku lunaku olw’amakumi abiri mu etaano mu mwezi ogwa Eruli, mu nnaku amakumi ataano mu bbiri.
On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.
16 Abalabe baffe bonna bwe baakiwulira, amawanga gonna agaali gatwetoolodde ne bamulaba, ne batya era ne baggwaamu omwoyo, kubanga baalaba ng’omulimu gwakolebwa olw’okubeerwa kwa Katonda waffe.
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 Ate era mu biro ebyo abakungu ba Yuda baaweerezanga ebbaluwa eri Tobiya. Tobiya n’aziddangamu.
During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.
18 Bangi ku bo mu Yuda abaamulayirira, kubanga yali mukoddomi wa Sekaniya mutabani wa Ala, ate nga ne mutabani we Yekokanani yali awasizza muwala wa Mesullamu mutabani wa Berekiya.
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 Baamuwaanawaananga mu maaso gange, n’oluvannyuma ne bamutegeeza bye nayogeranga. Tobiya n’aweerezanga ebbaluwa okuntiisatiisa.
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.
