Neemias 2
1 Succedeu pois no mez de nisan, no anno vigesimo do rei Artaxerxes, que estava posto vinho diante d'elle, e eu tomei o vinho, e o dei ao rei porém nunca estivera triste diante d'elle.
After King Artaxerxes [had been ruling the Persian Empire] for almost 20 years, (during the spring/before the hot season) of that year, when it was time to serve wine to him [during a feast], I took the wine and gave it to him. I had never looked sad when I was in front of him before, [but on that day he saw that I looked very sad].
2 E o rei me disse: Porque está triste o teu rosto, pois não estás doente? Não é isto senão tristeza de coração: então temi muito em grande maneira.
So he asked me, “Why are you sad? [I know that] you are not sick. It must be that you are troubled about something.” Then I was very afraid, [because it was not proper to be sad when I came to the king] (OR, [because I was worried what the king would do to me if he refused to do what I was about to request him to do]).
3 E disse ao rei: Viva o rei para sempre! Como não estaria triste o meu rosto, estando a cidade, o logar dos sepulchros de meus paes, assolada, e tendo sido consumidas as suas portas a fogo?
I replied, “Your majesty, I hope you will live a very long time! But (how can I prevent myself from being sad, because the city where my ancestors are buried [has been destroyed] and is in ruins?/I cannot keep myself from looking sad, because the city where my ancestors are buried [has been destroyed and] is in ruins.) [RHQ] [Even] the city gates have been completely burned.”
4 E o rei me disse: Que me pedes agora? Então orei ao Deus dos céus,
The king replied, “What do you want me to do [for you]?” I prayed [silently] to our God [who is/rules] in heaven.
5 E disse ao rei: Se é do agrado do rei, e se o teu servo é acceito em tua presença, peço-te que me envies a Judah, á cidade dos sepulchros de meus paes, para que eu a edifique.
Then I replied, “If you are willing [to do it], and if I have pleased you, send me to the city [of Jerusalem] in Judah [province] where my ancestors are buried, in order that I may [help people to] rebuild the city.”
6 Então o rei me disse, estando a rainha assentada junto a elle: Quanto durará a tua viagem, e quando voltarás? E aprouve ao rei enviar-me, apontando-lhe eu um certo tempo.
While the queen was sitting beside the king, he asked, [“If I allow you to go, ] how long will you be gone? When will you return?” [I told the king how long I would be gone, and] the king gave me permission to go, and I told him what day [I wanted to leave].
7 Disse mais ao rei: Se ao rei parece bem, dêem-se-me cartas para os governadores d'além do rio, para que me dêem passagem até que chegue a Judah.
I also said to the king, “If you are willing to do it, write letters for me to take to the governors of the province west of the [Euphrates] River. Tell them to allow me to travel safely [through their province] until I arrive in Judah.
8 Como tambem uma carta para Asaph, guarda do jardim do rei, que me dê madeira para cobrir as portas do paço da casa, e para o muro da cidade, e para a casa em que eu houver de entrar. E o rei m'as deu, segundo a boa mão de Deus sobre mim.
Also, [please write] a letter to Asaph, the man who takes care of your forest [in that area], telling him to give me timber to make the beams to support the gates of the fortress that is near the temple, and timber for making the walls of the city, and for building the house in which I [will live].” The king did what I requested him to do, because my God was graciously/kindly (helping/acting for) me.
9 Então vim aos governadores d'além do rio, e dei-lhes as cartas do rei: e o rei tinha enviado comigo chefes do exercito e cavalleiros.
[After I got ready, I left to travel to Judah]. The king sent some army officers and soldiers riding on horses to accompany me, [to protect me]. When I came to where the governors of the provinces west of the [Euphrates] River lived, I gave them the letters that the king had written.
10 O que ouvindo Sanballat, o horonita, e Tobias, o servo ammonita, lhes desagradou com grande desagrado que alguem viesse a procurar o bem dos filhos d'Israel.
But when [two government officials, ] Sanballat from [a village near] Horon and Tobiah from the Ammon [people-group], heard that I had arrived, they were very angry that someone had come to help the Israeli people.
11 E cheguei a Jerusalem, e estive ali tres dias.
When I arrived in Jerusalem, I did not tell anyone what thoughts God had given to me about what I should do there. Three days after I arrived in Jerusalem, I went out of the city in the evening, taking a few other men with me. I was riding a donkey; we had no other animals with us.
12 E de noite me levantei, eu e poucos homens comigo, e não declarei a ninguem o que o meu Deus me poz no coração para fazer em Jerusalem: e não havia comigo animal algum, senão aquelle em que estava montado.
13 E de noite sahi pela porta do valle, e para a banda da fonte do dragão, e para a porta do monturo, e contemplei os muros de Jerusalem, que estavam fendidos, e as suas portas, que tinham sido consumidas pelo fogo.
We left the city, going out through the Valley Gate, then past the well called the Jackal (OR, Dragon’s) Well, and then past the gate called the Rubbish/Garbage Gate. We inspected all the walls that had been broken down and all the gates that had been burned down.
14 E passei á porta da fonte, e ao viveiro do rei; e não havia logar por onde podesse passar a cavalgadura debaixo de mim.
Then we went to the Fountain Gate and to the pool called the King’s Pool, but my donkey could not get through [the narrow opening] (OR, [the rubble]).
15 Então de noite subi pelo ribeiro, e contemplei o muro: e voltei, e entrei pela porta do valle, e assim voltei.
So we turned back and went along the [Kidron] Valley. We inspected the wall there before we turned back/around and entered the city again at the Valley Gate.
16 E não souberam os magistrados aonde eu fui nem o que eu fazia: porque ainda nem aos judeos, nem aos nobres, nem aos magistrados, nem aos mais que faziam a obra, até então tinha declarado coisa alguma.
The [city] officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because I had not told anyone about what I planned to do. I had not said anything about it to the Jewish leaders or the officials or the priests or any of the others who would be helping me in the work [that I wanted to do].
17 Então lhes disse: Bem vêdes vós a miseria em que estamos, que Jerusalem está assolada, e que as suas portas teem sido queimadas a fogo: vinde pois e reedifiquemos o muro de Jerusalem, e não sejamos mais em opprobrio.
But now I said to them, “You all know very well the terrible things [that have happened to] our city. The city is ruined; even the gates are burned down. So we should rebuild the city wall. If we do that, we will no longer feel humiliated/disgraced.”
18 Então lhes declarei como a mão do meu Deus me fôra favoravel, como tambem as palavras do rei, que elle me tinha dito: então disseram: Levantemo-nos, e edifiquemos. E esforçaram as suas mãos para o bem
Then I told them about how God had kindly/graciously helped me [when I talked to the king], and what the king had said to me. They immediately replied, “Let’s start rebuilding!” So they started to do this good work.
19 O que ouvindo Sanballat, o horonita, e Tobias, o servo ammonita, e Gesem, o arabio, zombaram de nós, e desprezaram-n'os, e disseram: Que é isto que fazeis? quereis rebellar-vos contra o rei?
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gershom the Arab [king of the Kedar region] heard about what we planned to do, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They said, “What is this work that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king [again]?” [RHQ]
20 Então lhes respondi, e disse: O Deus dos céus é o que nos fará prosperar; e nós, seus servos, nos levantaremos e edificaremos: que vós não tendes parte, nem justiça, nem memoria em Jerusalem.
But I replied, “Our God [who is/rules] in heaven will help our plans to succeed. But as for you, you have no right to decide anything about this city, because you have not participated in what has happened in this city in previous years.”
