Nehemaia 6
1 Pea ʻi he fanongo ʻe Sanipalate, mo Topaia, mo Kesemi ko e ʻAlepea, mo hono toe ʻo homau fili, kuo u langaʻi ʻae ʻā maka; pea naʻe ʻikai ha ava ʻoku toe; (ka ʻi he kuonga ko ia naʻe teʻeki ai te u fokotuʻu hake ʻae ngaahi matapā laupapa ki he ngaahi hūʻanga): naʻe hoko ai ʻo pehē:
Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and our other enemies heard [a report] that we had finished rebuilding the wall, and that now there were no more (gaps/places where the wall was not finished) (although we had not yet put the doors in the gates).
2 Naʻe fekau ʻe Sanipalate mo Kesemi kiate au, ʻo pehē, “Haʻu, ketau fakataha ʻi he potu kakai ʻe taha ʻi he toafa ʻo Ono.” Ka naʻa nau fifili ke fai ha kovi kiate au.
So Sanballat and Geshem sent [a message] to me, in which they said “Come and talk with us at a place in Ono Plain [north of Jerusalem].” But [I knew that] really they wanted to harm me [if I went there].
3 Pea ne u fekau ʻae kau talafekau kiate kinautolu, ʻo pehē, “ʻOku ou fai ʻae ngāue ʻoku lahi, ko ia ʻoku ʻikai te u faʻa ʻalu hifo: koeʻumaʻā ʻa ʻeku tuku ʻae ngāue, ʻi he liʻaki ia, pea ʻalu hifo ai kiate kimoutolu?”
So I sent messengers to them, to tell them, “I am doing an important work, and I cannot go down [there]. (Why should I stop doing this work just to go down to [talk with] you?/I do not want to stop doing this work just to go down to [talk with] you.)” [RHQ]
4 Ka naʻa nau fekau pehē kiate au, ʻo liunga fā; pea ne u talia ʻakinautolu ʻi he anga pe taha:
They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.
5 Pea naʻe toki fekau pehē ai pe ʻe Sanipalate ʻa ʻene tamaioʻeiki kiate au ko hono liunga nima mo e tohi mafola pe ʻi hono nima;
Then Sanballat sent one of his servants to me, bringing a fifth message. This one was written, but it was not sealed. [He did that in order that others would read the message that the servant was carrying] in his hand.
6 ʻAia naʻe tuʻu ai ʻae lea ni, “Kuo fakaongo ki he hiteni, pea kuo tala ia ʻe Kasimu, ʻo pehē ko koe mo e kakai Siu ʻoku mou tokanga ke angatuʻu: ko ia ʻoku ke langa ai ʻae ʻā maka, koeʻuhi ke ke hoko ai ko honau tuʻi, ʻo fakatatau ki he ngaahi lea ni.
This is what was written in the message: “Some people in the nearby countries have heard a report that you and the other Jews are rebuilding the wall [in order to be able to resist attacks], because you are planning to revolt [against the king of Babylon]. And the report also says that you are planning to become the king [of the Israelis]. Geshem says that what they have reported is true.
7 Pea kuo ke fakanofo ʻae kau palōfita, ke nau malangaʻaki koe ʻi Selūsalema, ʻo pehē, ‘ʻOku ai ʻae tuʻi ʻi Siuta: pea ko eni ʻe fakaongo atu ia ki he tuʻi ʻo fakatatau ki he ngaahi lea ni. Ko ia ke ke haʻu, pea ke tau alea ʻo fakakaukau fakataha.’”
[People are also saying that] you have appointed some prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem that you, [Nehemiah, ] are now the king in Judea. King [Artaxerxes] will certainly hear these reports, [and then you will be in big trouble]. So I suggest that we should meet together to talk about this matter.”
8 Pea ne u fekau kiate ia, ʻo pehē, “ʻOku ʻikai fai ha meʻa hangē ko ia ʻoku ke lau ki ai, ka ʻoku ke fakatupu ia ʻi ho loto ʻoʻou.”
[When I read that message, ] I sent [the messenger] back to Sanballat to say, “None of what you are saying is true. You have (made this up/concocted this) in your own head/mind.”
9 He naʻa nau fai kotoa pē ke fakamanavahēʻi ʻakimautolu, ʻo pehē, “ʻE vaivai ai honau nima mei he ngāue, ke ʻoua naʻa fai ia.” Pea ko eni, [ʻE ʻOtua], ke ke fakamālohi hoku nima.
[I said that because I knew that] they were trying to cause us to be afraid, with the result that we would stop working [on the wall]. So I actually became more determined (OR, I prayed to God to help me) [to continue the work].
10 Hili ia naʻaku ʻalu ki he fale ʻo Simaia ko e foha ʻo Telaia ko e foha ʻe Mihetapeli, ʻaia naʻe nofo fale pe: pea naʻe pehē ʻe ia, “Keta fakataha ʻi he fale ʻoe ʻOtua, ʻi he loto faletapu, pea ke tā tāpuni ʻae ngaahi matapā ʻoe faletapu: he tenau haʻu ke tāmateʻi koe, ʻio, tenau haʻu ʻi he poʻuli ke tāmateʻi koe.”
[One day] I went to talk with Shemaiah, son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel. I went to talk with him in his house, because he was not able (OR, allowed) to leave his house. He said to me, “You and I must enter the very sacred place in the temple and lock the doors, because people are going to come to kill you at night.”
11 Pea ne u pehē, “He ʻoku lelei ke hola ʻae tangata hangē ko au? Pea ko hai ia, ʻaia kuo hoko ʻo hangē ko au, pea ʻe ʻalu ia ki he faletapu ke hao ai ʻene moʻui? ʻE ʻikai te u ʻalu.”
I replied, “I (am not that kind of person/do not do things like that) [RHQ]! I would not run and hide in the temple to save my life! No, I will not do that!”
12 Pea ʻiloange, naʻaku vakai, naʻe ʻikai fekau ia ʻe he ʻOtua: ka naʻa ne fakahā ʻae kikite ni kiate au; koeʻuhi naʻe totongi ia ʻe Topaia mo Sanipalate.
When I thought [about what he had said], I realized that God had not told Shemaiah to say that to me. I realized that Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him [to say that to me].
13 Ko e meʻa ia naʻe totongi ai ia, koeʻuhi ke u hoko ʻo manavahē, pea fai pehē, ʻo fai angahala, pea kenau maʻu ai ʻae meʻa ke fakaongo kovi ʻaki, pea koeʻuhi kenau fakakovi ai au.
They had bribed him to cause me to be afraid. They wanted me to [disobey God’s commands and] sin [by hiding in the temple]. If I did that, they would be able to ruin my reputation [MTY] and discredit me.
14 “ʻE hoku ʻOtua, ke ke manatuʻi ʻe koe ʻa Topaia mo Sanipalate ʻo fakatatau ki heʻena ngāue ko eni, pea ki he fefine palōfita ko Noatia, pea mo hono toe ʻoe kau palōfita, ʻaia naʻa nau loto ke fakamanavahēʻi au.”
[So I prayed, ] “My God, do not forget what Tobiah and Sanballat have done. Punish them. And do not forget that the female prophet Noadiah and some of the other prophets have also tried to cause me to be afraid.”
15 Pea pehē, naʻe fakaʻosi ʻae ʻā maka ʻi hono uofulu ma nima ʻoe ʻaho ʻoe māhina ko Iluli, ʻi he ʻaho ʻe nimangofulu ma ua
On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.
16 Pea naʻe hoko ʻo pehē, ʻi he fanongo ki ai ʻe homau fili kotoa pē, pea mamata ʻe he hiteni kotoa pē naʻe nofo ʻo takatakai ʻiate kimautolu ki he ngaahi meʻa ni, naʻa nau loto vaivai lahi ʻi honau mata: he naʻa nau mamata kuo fai ʻae ngāue ni ʻi homau ʻOtua.
When our enemies in the nearby countries heard about that, they realized that they had been humiliated, because everyone knew that it was because God helped us that we had been able to do this work [and that they had not been able to force us to quit].
17 Pea ko eni foki, ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho ko ia naʻe ʻave ʻe he houʻeiki ʻo Siuta ʻae ngaahi tohi kia Topaia, pea naʻe ʻomi ʻae ngaahi tohi ʻa Topaia kiate kinautolu.
During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.
18 He naʻe ai ʻae tokolahi ʻi Siuta naʻe fuakava kiate ia, he ko e foha ia ʻi he fono kia Sikania ko e foha ʻo ʻAla; pea kuo toʻo ʻe hono foha ko Sohanani ʻae ʻofefine ʻo Mesulami ko e foha ʻo Pelekia.
Many people in Judea were closely associated with Tobiah, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah. Furthermore, Tobiah’s son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berekiah.
19 Pea naʻa nau fakaongo mai kiate au ʻene ngaahi ngāue lelei foki, pea naʻe fakaongo ʻeku ngaahi lea kiate ia. Pea naʻe ʻomi ʻe Topaia ʻae ngaahi tohi ke fakamanavahēʻi ai au.
People often talked in my presence about all the good things that Tobiah had done, and then they would tell him everything that I said. So Tobiah sent many letters to me to try to cause me to become afraid.
