Nehemia 5

1 Saa bere no mmarima no bi ne wɔn yerenom nwiinwii tiaa wɔn mfɛfo Yudafo no.

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

2 Wɔkae se, “Yɛwɔ mmusua a emu nnipa dɔɔso. Yehia sika a ɛdɔɔso kakra a yɛde bɛtɔ aduan adi anya ahoɔden.”

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 Afoforo nso kae se, “Yɛde yɛn mfuw, bobe nturo ne yɛn afi asisi awowa sɛnea yebenya aduan wɔ ɔkɔm bere mu.”

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 Afoforo nso kae se, “Yɛabɔ bosea a ɛne yɛn mfuw ne bobeturo bo yɛ pɛ de atua yɛn sonkahiri.

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 Yefi abusua koro mu, na yɛn mma te sɛ wɔn de. Nanso ɛsɛ sɛ yɛtɔn yɛn mma, de wɔn kɔ nkoasom mu ansa na yenya sika de ahwɛ yɛn ho. Yɛatɔn yɛn mmabea bi dedaw, na yentumi nyɛ ho hwee, efisɛ yɛde yɛn mfuw ne bobeturo asisi awowa ama afoforo.”

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 Metee wɔn anwiinwii no, me bo fuw yiye.

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

7 Medwenee saa asɛm no ho, na mekasa tiaa atitiriw ne adwumayɛfo no. Meka kyerɛɛ wɔn se, “Monam nsiho a mugye fi mo ara mo nkurɔfo bosea a wɔbɔ so no hyɛ wɔn so.” Na mefrɛɛ ɔmanfo nhyiamu kaa ho asɛm.

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 Nhyiamu no ase no, meka kyerɛɛ wɔn se, “Yɛn a yɛaka no, yɛrebɔ yɛn ho mmɔden sɛ yebetumi agye yɛn abusuafo Yudafo a ɛsɛ sɛ wɔtɔn wɔn ho ma ahɔho abosonsomfo no. Nanso moresan atɔn wɔn akɔ nkoasom mu bio. Da biara na ɛsɛ sɛ yegye wɔn ana?” Na wɔantumi anka asɛm biara anyi wɔn ho ano.

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 Afei, mekɔɔ so kae se, “Nea moreyɛ no nye. Ɛsɛ sɛ monantew Onyamesuro mu, sɛnea atamfo aman no nnya kwan mfa mo nyɛ aserewde.

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 Mʼankasa ne me nuanom mmarima ne mʼadwumayɛfo bɔ ɔmanfo no sika ne atoko bosea, nanso afei momma yennyae boseabɔ no.

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 Nnɛ yi ara, ɛsɛ sɛ mode wɔn mfuw, bobeturo, ngodua mfuw ne wɔn afi ma wɔn. Muntua nsiho a mugyee wɔn wɔ sika, atoko, nsa ne ngo bosea a mobɔɔ wɔn no mma wɔn.”

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 Na wobuae se, “Yɛde biribiara bɛma na yɛremmisa biribiara mfi nnipa no nkyɛn bio. Yɛbɛyɛ nea woka no.” Afei, mefrɛɛ asɔfo no, na memaa atitiriw no ne adwumayɛfo no kaa ntam sɛ wobedi wɔn bɔhyɛ so.

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 Meporow me batakari mu mu kae se, “Sɛ mubu bɔ a moahyɛ no so a, Onyankopɔn mporow mo mfi mo afi mu ne mo agyapade ho!” Bagua no gyee so se, “Amen.” Na wɔkamfoo Awurade. Na nnipa no dii wɔn bɔhyɛ so.

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 Bio, mfe dumien a ɛyɛ ɔhene Artasasta ahenni mfe aduonu kosi mfe aduasa abien so a meyɛɛ amrado wɔ Yuda no, me ne mʼadwumayɛfo nnyee yɛn akɔnhamabɔde da.

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 Eyi ne nsonoe kɛse a ɛda yɛne amradofo a wodii kan no ntam, efisɛ wɔde asodi kɛse too ɔmanfo no so. Na daa wogye nnuan ne nsa ka dwetɛ a ɛkari gram ahannan ne aduosia ho fi nnipa no hɔ. Mpo, wɔn aboafo faa ho didii ɔmanfo no ho. Nanso esiane suro a na misuro Onyankopɔn no nti, mamfa saa kwan no so.

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 Mikum me ho maa ɔfasu no ho adwumayɛ, na mampɛ sɛ menya asase biara. Mehwɛɛ sɛ mʼadwumayɛfo nyinaa de wɔn bere bɛyɛ adwuma wɔ fasu no ho.

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 Mammisa hwee, nso na bere biara mema Yudafo adwumayɛfo ɔha aduonum didi wɔ me didipon so a, ahɔho a wofifi nsase foforo so no nka ho.

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

18 Nneɛma a na ɛho hia me da biara a ɛyɛ mʼankasa me ka no yɛ nantwi baako, nguan akɛse asia ne nkokɔ bebree. Na nnafua du biara, na ɛsɛ sɛ yenya nsa ahorow nyinaa bi. Nanso mannye amrado akɔnhamabɔde biara, efisɛ na ɔmanfo no wɔ ahokyere mu dedaw.

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 Me Nyankopɔn, kae nea mayɛ ama nnipa yi, na hyira me.

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