Nehemia 2
1 Mumwedzi waNisani mugore ramakumi maviri raMambo Atazekisesi, panguva yaakavigirwa waini, ndakatora waini ndikapa kuna mambo. Handina kumbenge ndambosuruvara zvakadai pamberi pake.
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 Saka mambo akandibvunza akati, “Ko, chiso chako chinoratidza kusuwa seiko iwe usingarwari? Hapangavi nechimwe chinhu asi shungu dzomwoyo bedzi.” Ndakatya kwazvo,
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 asi ndakati kuna mambo, “Mambo ngaararame nokusingaperi! Ko, chiso changu chingatadza kupunyaira seiko kana guta rakavigwa madzibaba angu rava dongo uye masuo aro aparadzwa nomoto?”
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 Mambo akati kwandiri, “Chii chauri kuda?” Ipapo ndakanyengetera kuna Mwari wokudenga,
The king replied, “What do you want me to do [for you]?” I prayed [silently] to our God [who is/rules] in heaven.
5 ndikapindura mambo ndichiti, “Kana zvichifadza mambo uye kana muranda wenyu awana nyasha pamberi pake, mambo ngaanditumire kuguta riri kuJudha kwakavigwa madzibaba angu kuitira kuti ndinorivakazve.”
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 Ipapo mambo, navahosi vakagara parutivi pake, akandibvunza akati, “Rwendo rwako runotora mazuva mangani, uye uchadzoka rinhi?” Naizvozvo zvakafadza mambo kuti anditume; saka ndakatara nguva.
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 Ndakatizve kwaari, “Kana mambo achifadzwa nazvo, ndingapiwawo tsamba here dzinoenda kuvabati vari mhiri kwaYufuratesi, kuitira kuti vagondipa mvumo yokupfuura kusvikira ndasvika muJudha?
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 Uye ndinokumbirawo tsamba inoenda kuna Asafi, muchengeti wesango ramambo, kuitira kuti azondipa matanda okuchinjika pamusoro pamasuo enhare iri patemberi uye neorusvingo rweguta neeimba yandichagara?” Mambo akandipa zvandakakumbira, nokuti ruoko rwenyasha rwaMwari wangu rwaiva pamusoro pangu.
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 Saka ndakaenda kuvabati vaiva mhiri kwaYufuratesi ndikavapa tsamba dzamambo. Zvino mambo akanga atumawo pamwe chete neni vakuru vehondo navatasvi vamabhiza.
[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 Sanibharati muHoroni naTobhia muranda wavaAmoni pavakazvinzwa vakashatirwa kwazvo vachiti kwauya mumwe anoda kusimudzira magariro akanaka avaIsraeri.
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 Naizvozvo ndakaenda kuJerusarema ndikagarako kwamazuva matatu.
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 Ndakamuka usiku navarume vashoma shoma. Ndakanga ndisina kumboudza munhu zvakanga zvaiswa mumwoyo mangu naMwari wangu kuti ndiite muJerusarema. Pakanga pasina chimwe chipfuwo kunze kwechandakanga ndakatasva.
13 Ndakabuda usiku ndikapinda napaSuo roMupata ndakananga nokuTsime reShato nokuSuo raMarara, ndichiongorora masvingo eJerusarema, akanga akoromorwa, uye masuo awo, akanga aparadzwa nomoto.
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 Ipapo ndakapfuurira mberi ndakananga kuSuo reTsime nokuDziva raMambo, asi pakanga pasina nzvimbo yokupinda nechipfuwo changu;
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 saka ndakakwidza nokumupata nousiku, ndichiongorora rusvingo. Pakupedzisira, ndakadzoka ndikapindazve napakati peSuo roMupata.
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 Vabati havana kuziva kwandakanga ndaenda kana zvandakanga ndichiita, nokuti ndakanga ndisati ndambotaura chinhu kuvaJudha kana kuvaprista kana vakuru kana vabati, kana vamwewo zvavo vaizoita basa.
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 Ipapo ndakati kwavari, “Muri kuona dambudziko ratinaro here: Jerusarema rava dongo, uye masuo aro akapiswa nomoto. Uyai, ngativakeizve rusvingo rweJerusarema, kuti tisazonyadziswazve.”
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 Ndakavaudza pamusoro poruoko rwenyasha rwaMwari wangu rwaiva pamusoro pangu uye zvakanga zvataurwa namambo kwandiri. Ivo vakati, “Ngatitangei kuvaka.” Saka vakatanga basa rakanaka iri.
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 Asi Sanibharati muHoroni, naTobhia muranda wavaAmoni naGeshemu muArabhu vakati vazvinzwa, vakatiseka uye vakatizvidza. Vakatibvunza vachiti, “Chiiko ichi chamuri kuita? Muri kumukira mambo kanhi?”
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 Ndakavapindura ndikati, “Mwari wokudenga achaita kuti tibudirire. Isu varanda vake tichatanga kuvaka asi kana murimi, hamuna mugove kana simba kana chirangaridzo paJerusarema.”
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.”
