Nehemaia 4

1 Ka naʻe hoko ʻo pehē, ʻi he ongoʻi ʻe Sanipalate ʻoku mau langaʻi ʻae ʻā maka, naʻe ʻita lahi ia, pea ne fai lili lahi, ʻo ne manukiʻi ʻae kakai Siu.

But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

2 Pea naʻe lea ia ʻi he ʻao ʻo hono kāinga mo e tau ʻo Samēlia, ʻo ne pehē, “Ko e hā ia ʻoku fai ʻe he kakai Siu vaivai ni? He te nau fakamālohiʻi ʻakinautolu ke tau? Te nau fai ha feilaulau? He te nau fakaʻosi [ia ]ʻi he ʻaho pe taha? Te nau fakaakeake ʻae ngaahi maka mei he ngaahi fokotuʻunga veve ʻaia kuo tutu?”

He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burnt?”

3 Pea naʻe ofi kiate ia ʻa Topaia ko e tangata ʻAmoni, ʻo ne lea ʻo pehē, “ʻIo, ko ia ʻoku nau langa, ka ne ʻalu hake ai ha fokisi, te ne holoki hifo ʻenau ʻā maka.”

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “What they are building, if a fox climbed up it, he would break down their stone wall.”

4 “ʻE homau ʻOtua ke ke fanongo: he kuo lumaʻi ʻakimautolu: pea ke fakatafoki honau manuki ki he ʻulu ʻonautolu, pea ke tuku ʻakinautolu ko e meʻa vete ʻi he fonua ʻoe fakapōpula:

“Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity.

5 Pea ʻoua naʻa ke ʻufiʻufi ʻenau ngaahi hia, pea ʻoua naʻa fakamolemole ʻenau ngaahi angahala mei ho ʻao: he kuo nau fakatupu ʻa hoʻo houhau ʻi he ʻao ʻoe kau langa fale.”

Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”

6 Naʻe pehē ʻemau langa ʻae ʻā maka pea naʻe fakahokohoko ke fakataha ʻae ʻā maka ʻo aʻu ki hono vaeuaʻanga: he naʻe ʻi he kakai ʻae loto fie ngāue.

So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 Ka naʻe hoko ʻo pehē, ʻi he fanongo ʻe Topaia, mo e kau ʻAlepea, mo e kau ʻAmoni, mo e kau ʻAsitoti, ʻoku fakamaʻopoʻopo ʻae ngaahi ʻā maka ʻo Selūsalema, pea kuo kamata tāpuni hono ngaahi ava, naʻa nau ʻita lahi,

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;

8 ‌ʻO nau alea fakataha kotoa pē ke nau haʻu ke tauʻi ʻa Selūsalema, koeʻuhi ke taʻofi hono fai.

and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion amongst us.

9 Ka naʻa mau fai ʻemau lotu ki homau ʻOtua, pea naʻe fakanofo ʻae kau leʻo ke vakai ʻakinautolu ʻi he ʻaho mo e pō, ko e meʻa ʻiate kinautolu.

But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night because of them.

10 Pea naʻe pehē ʻe Siuta, “ʻOku fakaʻaʻau ke siʻi ʻae mālohi ʻoe kau haʻamo, pea ʻoku lahi ʻae veve: ko ia ʻoku ʻikai te mau faʻa langa ʻae ʻā maka.”

Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading and there is much rubble, so that we are not able to build the wall.”

11 Pea naʻe pehē ʻe homau ngaahi fili, “ʻOua naʻa nau ʻilo pe mamata, kaeʻoua ke mau hoko atu ki honau lotolotonga, pea tāmateʻi ʻakinautolu, pea taʻofi ʻae ngāue.”

Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in amongst them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”

12 Pea naʻe hoko ʻo pehē, ʻi he haʻu ʻae kau Siu naʻe nofo ofi kiate kinautolu, naʻa nau fakahā mai ʻo liunga hongofulu ʻenau [te u tau ]mei he ngaahi potu kehekehe.

When the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

13 Ko ia naʻaku fakanofo ai ʻae kakai ʻo tatau mo honau ngaahi fale, ʻi he ngaahi potu ʻi lalo ʻituʻa ʻoe ʻā maka, pea ʻi he ngaahi potu māʻolunga, mo ʻenau ngaahi heletā, mo honau ngaahi tao, mo honau ngaahi kaufana.

Therefore I set guards in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places. I set the people by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

14 Pea u vakai, mo tuʻu hake, pea u pehē ki he houʻeiki, pea ki he kau pule, pea ki hono toe ʻoe kakai, “ʻOua naʻa mou manavahē kiate kinautolu: manatu kia Sihova, ʻaia ʻoku lahi, mo fakamanavahē, pea mou tau koeʻuhi ko homou ngaahi kāinga, ko homou ngaahi foha, mo homou ngaahi ʻofefine, mo homou ngaahi uaifi, mo homou ngaahi fale.”

I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

15 Pea naʻe hoko ʻo pehē, ʻi he fanongo ʻe homau ngaahi fili kuo mau ongoʻi ia ʻo ʻilo, pea kuo fakataʻeaongaʻi ʻe he ʻOtua ʻenau fakakaukau, naʻa mau toe liu mai kotoa pē ki he ʻā maka, ʻo taki taha ki heʻene ngāue.

When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

16 Pea naʻe hoko ʻo pehē talu mei he kuonga ko ia ʻo fai ai pe, naʻe fai ʻe hono vaeuaʻanga ʻo ʻeku kau tamaioʻeiki ʻae ngāue, pea puke ʻe he vaeuaʻanga ʻe taha ʻae ngaahi tao, mo e ngaahi pā, mo e kaufana, mo e kofutau: pea naʻe ʻi he tuʻa fale kotoa pē ʻo Siuta ʻae kau pule.

From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

17 Ko kinautolu naʻe langa ʻi he ʻā maka, mo kinautolu naʻe haʻamo kavenga, mo kinautolu naʻe fakaheka, naʻa nau fai ʻo ngāueʻaki ʻae nima ʻe taha ʻi he ngāue, pea puke mahafutau ʻaki ʻae nima ʻe taha.

Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other held his weapon.

18 He ko e kau langa, naʻa nau langa pe ʻo taki taha maʻu hono heletā kuo nonoʻo ʻi hono vakavaka. Pea ko ia naʻe ifi ʻae meʻalea naʻe ofi ia kiate au.

Amongst the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the shofar was by me.

19 Pea ne u pehē ki he ngaahi houʻeiki, pea ki he kau pule, pea ki hono toe ʻoe kakai, “ʻOku lahi ʻae ngāue pea lau lahi, pea kuo tau mavahevahe ʻi he ʻā maka, pea vāmamaʻo ʻae taha mei he taha.

I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

20 ‌ʻIlonga ʻae potu ko ia te mou ongoʻi ai ʻae ifi ʻoe meʻalea, mou kātoa ki ai leva kiate kimautolu: ʻe tau ʻe hotau ʻOtua maʻatautolu.”

Wherever you hear the sound of the shofar, rally there to us. Our God will fight for us.”

21 Ko ia naʻa mau ngāue pe ʻi he ngāue pea puke tao ʻe honau vaeuaʻanga ʻanautolu mei he maʻa hake ʻoe pongipongi ʻo aʻu ki heʻene hāmai ʻae ngaahi fetuʻu.

So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

22 Pea ne u lea foki ʻi he kuonga ko ia ki he kakai, [ʻo pehē], Tuku ke taki taha mohe mo ʻene tamaioʻeiki ʻi Selūsalema, koeʻuhi ke nau ʻiate kitautolu ko e kau leʻo ʻi he pō, pea ngāue ʻi he ʻaho.

Likewise at the same time I said to the people, “Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labour in the day.”

23 Ko ia naʻe ʻikai [vete ʻe ]au, pe ko hoku kāinga, pe ko ʻeku kau tamaioʻeiki, pe ko e kau tangata leʻo ʻaia naʻe muimui ʻiate au, naʻe ʻikai ha tokotaha naʻe vete hono kofu, ka koeʻuhi pe ke fō.

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.