Neemias 2
1 Sucedeu, pois, no mês de Nisã, no ano vigésimo do rei Artaxerxes, que havendo vinho diante dele, tomei o vinho, e [o] dei ao rei. Porém eu nunca havia estado triste diante dele.
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 Por isso o rei me perguntou: Por que o teu rosto está triste, mesmo não estando doente? Isto não pode ser outra coisa, senão tristeza de coração. Tive então muito medo.
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 meu rosto não estaria triste, quando a cidade, o lugar dos sepulcros de meus pais, está arruinada, e suas portas consumidas 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: O que pedes? 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 respondei ao rei: Se for do agrado do rei, e se teu servo é agradável diante de ti, [peço] que me envies a Judá, à cidade dos sepulcros de meus pais, para reconstruí-la.
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 (enquanto a rainha estava sentada junto a ele): Por quanto tempo durará tua viagem, e quando voltarás? E agradou ao rei me enviar, depois que eu lhe defini 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 for do agrado do rei, sejam dadas a mim cartas para os governadores dalém do rio, para que me permitam passar em segurança até que eu chegue a Judá;
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 também um carta para Asafe, guarda do jardim do rei, para que me dê madeira para consertar as portas da fortaleza do templo, para o muro da cidade, e para a casa onde entrarei. E o rei me concedeu, segundo a boa mão do SENHOR 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 dalém do rio, e lhes dei as cartas do rei. E o rei enviou comigo capitães do exército e cavaleiros.
[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 Quando então Sambalate, o horonita, e Tobias, o servo amonita, ouviram, desagradou-lhes muito que alguém viesse para buscar o bem aos filhos de 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 Cheguei, pois, a Jerusalém, e fiquei ali três 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 uns poucos homens comigo, e não declarei a ninguém o que Deus tinha posto em meu coração que fizesse em Jerusalém; e animal nenhum estava comigo, a não ser o o em que eu cavalgava.
13 E de noite saí pela porta do Vale até a fonte do Dragão e à porta do Esterco; e observei os muros de Jerusalém que estavam fendidos, e suas portas estavam consumidas a 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 à porta da Fonte, e ao tanque do rei; e não houve lugar por onde o animal em que eu estava montado pudesse passar.
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 vale, e observei o muro; então voltei, e entrei pela porta do Vale, e assim me retornei.
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 os oficiais não sabiam aonde eu tinha ido, nem o que tinha feito; nem mesmo aos judeus e aos sacerdotes, nem aos nobres e oficiais, nem aos demais que faziam a obra, havia eu 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 eu lhes disse: Com certeza vedes a miséria em que estamos, que Jerusalém está arruinada, e suas portas queimadas a fogo. Vinde, e reconstruamos o muro de Jerusalém, e não sejamos mais humilhados.
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 de meu Deus havia sido boa sobre mim, e também as palavras do rei, que ele tinha me dito. Então disseram: Levantemo-nos, e edifiquemos. Assim esforçaram suas mãos para uma boa obra.
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 Porém, quando Sambalate o horonita, Tobias o servo amonita, e Gesém o árabe, ouviram [isto], zombaram de nós, e nos desprezaram, dizendo: O que é isto que vós fazeis? Por acaso estais vos rebelando 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, dizendo-lhes: O Deus dos céus é quem nos dará sucesso; e nós, servos dele, nos levantaremos e edificaremos; pois vós não tendes parte, nem direito, nem memória em Jerusalém.
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.”
