Nehemías 5

1 Entonces hubo un gran clamor del pueblo y sus esposas contra sus compatriotas, los judíos.

[Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.

2 Porque hubo algunos que dijeron: Nosotros, nuestros hijos y nuestras hijas, somos un gran número; obtengamos grano, para que podamos tener alimento para nuestras necesidades.

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 Y hubo algunos que dijeron: Estamos dando nuestros campos y nuestros viñedos y nuestras casas a cambio; obtengamos grano porque estamos en necesidad.

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 Y hubo otros que dijeron: Hemos dado en garantía nuestros campos y nuestros viñedos para obtener dinero para los impuestos del rey.

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 Pero nuestra carne es igual a la carne de nuestros compatriotas, y nuestros hijos como sus hijos, y ahora estamos entregando a nuestros hijos e hijas en manos de otros, para que sean sus sirvientes, y algunas de nuestras hijas son sirvientas incluso ahora, y no tenemos poder para detenerlo; Porque otros hombres tienen nuestros campos y nuestros viñedos.

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 Y al escuchar su clamor y lo que dijeron, estaba muy enojado.

I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.

7 Y después de pensarlo, hice una protesta a los jefes y los gobernantes, por imponer una carga tal a sus compatriotas. Y convoque una gran reunión para tratar el caso.

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 Y les dije: Hemos dado todo lo que pudimos dar, para hacer libres a nuestros hermanos judíos, que eran siervos y prisioneros de las naciones; y ahora, ¿renunciarían a sus hermanos para venderlos otra vez, y ¿Se convertirán en nuestra propiedad? Entonces no dijeron nada, respondiendo ni una palabra.

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 Y dije: Lo que están haciendo no está bien; ¿no es más necesario que vayas con el temor de nuestro Dios, por la vergüenza de las naciones enemigas nuestras?

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 Incluso yo y mis sirvientes hemos estado tomando interés por el dinero y el grano que les hemos dejado tener. Así que ahora, dejemos está usura.

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 Devuélvanles hoy mismo sus campos, sus viñedos, sus olivares y sus casas, y la centésima parte, del grano y el vino y el aceite que demandan de ellos.

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 Entonces ellos dijeron: Les devolveremos, y no tomaremos nada de ellos; Haremos lo que tu digas. Luego envié a los sacerdotes y les hice jurar que mantendrían este acuerdo.

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 Y sacudiendo los pliegues de mi túnica, dije: Que Dios envíe de su casa y de su trabajo a todo hombre que no cumpla con este acuerdo; así sea sacudido y despojado. Y toda la reunión de la gente dijo: “Así sea, y alabó al Señor”. Y la gente hizo lo que había dicho.

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 Desde el momento en que fui hecho gobernante del pueblo en la tierra de Judá, desde el año veinte hasta el año treinta y dos del rey Artajerjes, durante doce años, yo y mis siervos nunca hemos tomado la comida. Que era el derecho del gobernante.

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 Pero los gobernantes anteriores que estaban antes de mí hicieron a las personas responsables de su mantenimiento, y tomaron de ellos pan y vino al ritmo de cuarenta siclos de plata; e incluso sus siervos eran señores de la gente: pero no lo hice por el temor de Dios.

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 Y continué con el trabajo de este muro, y no adquirimos tierra para nosotros mismos, y todos mis sirvientes ayudaron con el trabajo.

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 Y más que esto, ciento cincuenta judíos y gobernantes fueron invitados a mi mesa, además de los que vinieron a nosotros desde las naciones que nos rodeaban.

Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.

18 La comida preparada para un día era un buey y seis ovejas gordas, así como aves de corral; y una vez en diez días una bodega de todo tipo de vino; pero, de todos modos, no reclame la pensión a la que tenía derecho el gobernante, porque la carga ya era excesiva sobre la gente.

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 Ten en mente, oh Dios mío, por mi bien, todo lo que he hecho por este pueblo.

My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.