Nehemia 5
1 Nampipoña-toreo amy zao ondatio naho o tañanjomba’eo ty amo nte-Iehoda roahalahi’ iareoo.
[Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.
2 Teo ty nanao ty hoe: Maro zahay naho o ana-dahi’aio naho o anak’ ampela’aio; ehe apoho hangalake mahakama zahay hihinana’ay ho veloñe.
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 Teo ka ty nanao ty hoe: Nampisongoe’ay o tete’aio, o tanembahe’aio vaho o anjomba’aio, hivilia’ay mahakama ty amy hasalikoañey.
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 Hoe ka ty ila’e, Fa nisongoe’ay drala ho amy vili-loham-panjakay o tane’aio naho tanem-bahe’aio.
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 Ie amy zao, kanao manahake ty nofo’ay ty nofo’ o longo’aio naho manahake o ana-dahi’ iareoo o ana-dahi’aio, oniño t’ie nampañondevo o ana-dahi’aio naho o anak’ ampela’aio, le amo anak’ ampela’aio henaneo ty fetrek’oro, fe tsy aman-kery hañavake iareo zahay; fa am’ondaty ila’eo o tete’aio naho o tanem-bahe’aio.
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 Aa le vata’e niboseke iraho te nahatsanoñe o fitoreova’ iareoo naho i saontsy rezay.
I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
7 Ie nitsakore, le trinevoko ami’ty hoe, Ry mpiaoloo naho, ry mpifeheo: Songa mangalak’ ana’e ami’ty songon-droahalahi’e hao? Le nanontonako fivori-bey,
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 vaho nanoeko ty hoe, An-kalefeañe ty nijebaña’ay o rahalahin-tikañeo, o nte-Iehodao fa naletak’ amo kilakila’ ondatio; aa le haleta’ areo hao o rahalahi’ areoo? mbore havily ama’ay? Nianjiñe iereo, fa tsy nanan-kavale.
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 Aa hoe iraho, Tsy soa o anoe’ areoo; tsy ndra kitra’e hañavelo am-pañeveñañe aman’ Añaharentika, ty amy sirika’ o kilakila’ondaty rafelahin-tikañeoo?
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 Toe nampisongo drala naho tsako am’ iereo o rahalahikoo naho o mpitorokoo. Ehe te apon-tika ty fampanañan-tsongo.
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 Ehe, ampolio anito o tane’eo naho o tanem-bahe’eo naho o anjomba’eo naho ty volafoty zato naho i tsakoy naho i divaiy vaho i menake nampañavahe’o iareoy.
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 Aa le hoe iereo: Havaha’ay vaho tsy hipaia’ay ndra inoñ’ inoñe; hanoe’ay ami’ty do’e i nisaontsie’oy. Aa le nitokaveko o mpisoroñeo vaho nampanoeko fañina, hanoa’ iareo i saontsieñey.
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 Aa le nahifiko ty sikim-pèko, nanao ty hoe: Hoe zao ty añifihan’ Añahare t’indaty añ’anjomba’e naho ami’ty fitoloña’e ze tsy manao i nitsarae’ey; eka zao ty hañifihañe aze, ho koake. Le hoe i valobohòkey: Amena! vaho nandrenge Iehovà. Le nanoe’ ondatio i nitsaraeñey.
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 Mbore, boak’ amy nanendreañe ahy ho bei’ iareo an-tane Iehodày, sikal’ amy taom-paha-roapoloy pak’ amy faha telo-polo-ro’ambi’ i Artaksastàiy, mpanjaka, i folo-tao-ro’ amby zay, le tsy nikamà’ay naho o rahalahikoo ty mahakamam-bein-tanañe.
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 Fa toe nampijinie’ o bey taolo’ ahio o kilankam-bei’ ondatioo, le nangalà’ iereo mofo naho divay ambone’ ty efa-polo sekele ty ondaty; eka, toe nirengerenge ama’ iareo o mpitoroñeo; fa tsy nanao Izay iraho, ami’ ty fañeveñako aman’ Añahare.
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 Eka, toe nifanehak’ ami’ty kijoly toy avao iraho, le tsy nivily tane zahay vaho fonga nifanontoñe amy asay o mpitorokoo.
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 Mbore zato-tsi-limampolo amo nte-Iehodao naho amo mpifeheo ty tam-pandambañako eo naho tsy volañeñe o rahalahy nivotrak’ ama’ay boak’ ampariparitseo.
Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.
18 Ty nihalankañeñe ho ahy boak’ andro amy zao, le añombe raike naho añondry eneñe jinoboñe; le voroñe ka ty nihajarieñe ho ahy, ie naharitse folo andro le namandroñañe divay maro karaza’e; fe amy iaby zay tsy nipaiaeko ty mahakama’ i beiy, amy te navesatse am’ondatio i fitoroñañey.
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 Ehe ivetseo hasoa ry Andrianañahare amo he’e nanoako amo ondatioo.
My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.
