Nehemja 4
1 Då nu Saneballat hörde, att vi byggde murarna, vardt han vred, och förgrymmade sig svårliga; och han bespottade Judarna;
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the city wall, he was very angry. He was enraged/furious. He made fun of us Jews.
2 Och sade för sina bröder, och för de väldiga i Samarien: Hvad göra de vanmägtige Judar? Månn man så skola låta betämma dem? Månn de skola offra? Månn de skola en dag fullkomna det? Månn de göra stenarna lefvande af stofthopar, som förbrände äro?
While his colleagues and officials of the army troops who had come from Samaria were listening, he said, “What do these feeble/pathetic Jews [think they] are doing? Do they think that if they offer enough/many sacrifices, [their gods will hear them and enable] them to finish building the wall in one day? The stones [that were in the wall previously have been weakened by] being burned in a fire. Those stones that they are pulling out of the rubbish/garbage heaps—do they think that they can make them strong again?” [RHQ]
3 Men Tobia den Ammoniten, som när honom var, sade: Låt bygga dem; när räfvarna löpa ditupp, skola de väl sönderrifva deras stenmurar.
Tobiah was [standing] beside Sanballat. He said, “That stone wall [that they are building] is very weak; so if even a fox climbed up on it, the wall would fall down!”
4 Hör, vår Gud, huru föraktade äre vi; vänd deras försmädelse in uppå deras hufvud, så att du gifver dem uti föraktelse i deras fängelses lande.
Then I prayed. I said, “Our God, hear us, because they are ridiculing us! Cause the words of their insults to fall back on them! Allow their enemies to come and capture them and force them to go to a foreign land!
5 Öfverskyl icke deras missgerning, och bortskrapa icke deras synd för dig; förty de hafva rett byggningsmännerna.
They are guilty; they have [said things that] caused you to be angry while the people here who are building the wall are listening; so punish them!”
6 Men vi byggde murarna, och fogde dem alla tillhopa intill halfva höjd; och folket fick hjerta till att arbeta.
But after some time, we finished building the wall around the whole city, up to half as high as the first wall had been. We were able to do that because we worked very hard.
7 Då nu Saneballat och Tobia, och de Araber och Ammoniter, och Asdoditer hörde, att murarna i Jerusalem voro igenbyggde, och de hade begynt igentäppa det öppet var, vordo de ganska vrede;
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the men from Arabia, the people from the Ammon [people-group] and from Ashdod [city] heard that the work on the wall was continuing and that we were filling in the gaps in the wall, they became very angry.
8 Och gjorde alla ett förbund tillhopa, att de skulle komma och strida emot Jerusalem, och göra en villo derinne.
They all planned to come and fight against the people of Jerusalem [MTY] and to cause trouble.
9 Men vi bådom vår Gud, och satte vakt uppå dem dag och natt, emot dem.
But we prayed to our God [to protect us], and we put men [around the walls] to guard [the city] day and night.
10 Och Juda sade: Dragarenas magt är allt för svag, och gruset är för mycket; vi kunne icke bygga uppå murenom.
Then the people of [MTY] Judah started to say, “The men who are working [on the wall] are becoming very tired. There is a lot of [heavy] rubble that we must remove; we ourselves cannot finish the work.
11 Men våre fiender tänkte: De skola icke få vetat, eller set, förr än vi komme midt i hopen uppå dem, och slå dem ihjäl, och förhindre arbetet.
“Besides, our enemies are saying, ‘Before the Jews see us, we will swoop down on them and kill them and stop their work [on the wall]!’”
12 Då nu Judarna, som när dem bodde, kommo, och sade oss det väl tio gånger, af all rum, der de omkring oss bodde;
The Jews who were living near our enemies came and told us many times, “You should leave the city and go to other places, in order that your enemies will not attack you!”
13 Då satte jag nedre utmed muren i grafvene folket, efter deras slägter, med deras svärd, spetsar och bågar.
So I put guards at the places where the wall was not very high yet and at places where there were gaps in the wall. I put guards to protect each of their family groups. I gave the guards daggers, spears, and bows [and arrows].
14 Och besåg det, och stod upp, och sade till rådherrarna, och öfverstarna, och till det andra folket: Frukter eder intet för dem; tänker uppå den stora förskräckeliga Herran, och strider för edra bröder, söner, döttrar, hustrur och hus.
Then after I inspected everything, I summoned the leaders and [other] officials and [many of] the other people, and I said to them, “Do not be afraid of our enemies! Think about [what] Yahweh, who is great and glorious, [can do]! And fight to protect your friends, your families, and your homes!”
15 Då nu våre fiender hörde, att vi hade fått vetat, gjorde Gud deras råd omintet; och vi vände oss åter alle till muren, hvar och en till sitt arbete.
Our enemies heard that we knew what they were planning to do and that God had (spoiled their plans/prevented them from doing what they planned). [But we were sure that God would defend us, ] so we all started to work on the wall again.
16 Och det skedde sedan, att hälften af de unga män gjorde arbetet; den andre hälften höllo spetsar, sköldar, bågar, och pansar; och öfverstarne stodo bakför hela Juda hus.
But after that, only half of the men who were working for me worked on the wall. The others stood there on guard, holding their spears, shields, bows [and arrows], and [wearing their] coats made of metal plates. [To encourage the people] were building the wall, their leaders stood behind them.
17 De som byggde på muren, och de som båro bördor ifrå dem som uppå ladde; med den ena handene gjorde de arbetet, och med den andra höllo de värjona.
Those who carried [baskets of supplies on their heads/shoulders] and those who built the wall did their work with one hand, and held a weapon with the other hand.
18 Och hvar och en af dem, som byggde, hade sitt svärd bundet vid sidona, och byggde så; och den som blåste med basunen, var när mig.
All those who were building [the wall] had a dagger fastened to their side. The man who would blow the trumpet [if our enemies attacked] was standing at my side.
19 Och jag sade till rådherrarna, och öfverstarna, och till det andra folket: Arbetet är stort och vidt, och vi äre förströdde på murenom, långt ifrå hvarannan.
Then I said to the officials, the other important men, and the other people, “This wall is very long, and we are far apart from each other along the wall.
20 På hvilket rum I nu hören blåsa i basunen, dit kommer till oss. Vår Gud varder för oss stridandes;
If you hear the man blowing the trumpet, gather around us at that place. [Remember that] our God will fight for us!”
21 Och vi vilje arbeta på verket; och hälften af dem höll spetsar, allt ifrå morgonrodnan intill stjernorna uppgingo.
So we continued to work. Half of the men continued to hold their spears all day, from when the sun rose [in the morning] until the stars appeared [at night].
22 Ock sade jag på den tiden till folket: Hvar och en blifve med sinom dräng öfver natten i Jerusalem, att vi om nattena tage vara på vaktena, och om dagen på arbetet.
At that time, I also said to the people, “Tell every worker and his helper that they must stay inside Jerusalem at night. By doing that, they can guard us at night, and they can work [on the wall] during the daytime.”
23 Men jag och mine bröder, och mine tjenare, och de män i vaktene efter mig, drogo intet vår kläder af, när någor i vattnet gick.
During that time, none of us ever took off our clothes (OR, we wore our clothes all the time)—I and my relatives and my workers and the guards who were with me. And we had our weapons with us, in our hands.
