Nehemia 6
1 Bere a Sanbalat, Tobia, Arabni Gesem ne yɛn atamfo nkae no huu sɛ masiesie ɔfasu no awie a ɔkwan biara nneda ntam; nanso saa bere no na minsisii apon no,
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 Sanbalat ne Gesem de nkra brɛɛ me se, minhyia wɔn wɔ nkuraa no baako a ɛwɔ Ono tataw so hɔ. Nanso mihuu sɛ wɔrepam me ti so,
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 enti memaa wɔn mmuae se, “Mereyɛ adwuma kɛse bi a merentumi nnyae mmehyia mo.”
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 Wɔmaa me saa nkra no mpɛn anan. Ne nyinaa mu no, memaa mmuae koro no ara.
They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.
5 Ne mpɛn anum so no, Sanbalat somfo bae no na okura krataa a wɔakyerɛw.
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 Na krataa no mu nsɛm ni: “Gesem aka akyerɛ me se, baabiara a ɔbɛkɔ no, ɔte sɛ wo ne Yudafo no repam atew atua; ɛno nti na woresiesie ɔfasu no. Nea ɛka ho ne sɛ, wopɛ sɛ wubedi wɔn so hene,
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 na mpo, woayi adiyifo bi sɛ wɔnhyɛ wo ho nkɔm wɔ Yerusalem se, ‘Monhwɛ! Ɔhene bi wɔ Yuda!’ Ɛsɛ sɛ wugye to mu sɛ, saa asɛm yi beduu ɔhene aso mu, enti ɛsɛ sɛ woba, na wo ne me bɛka ho asɛm.”
[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 Mibuae se, “Wunim sɛ woretwa atoro. Asɛm a woreka no, nokware baako koraa nni mu.”
[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 Huna na na wɔpɛ sɛ wohunahuna yɛn. Na wususuw sɛ wobetumi abu yɛn aba mu na yegyae adwuma no yɛ. Ɛno nti, mebɔɔ mpae sɛ menya ahoɔden de atoa dwumadi no so.
[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 Akyiri no, mekɔsraa Delaia babarima a ɔyɛ Mehetabel nena Semaia a ɔhyɛ ne fi na ɔnkɔ baabiara no. Ɔkae se, “Ma yenhyia wɔ Onyankopɔn asɔredan no mu, na yɛmmram apon no akyi. Wʼatamfo reba abekum wo anadwo yi.”
[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 Na mibuae se, “Enti ɛsɛ sɛ obi a ɔte sɛ me guan amanehunu ana? Enti ɛsɛ sɛ obi a ɔte sɛ me bɛkɔ akohintaw Asɔredan mu de apere me nkwa ana? Dabi, merenyɛ saa!”
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 Mihuu sɛ Onyankopɔn nkasa nkyerɛɛ no, na ne nkɔm a ɔhyɛe no tia me, efisɛ Tobia ne Sanbalat abɔ no paa.
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 Na wosusuw sɛ wobehunahuna me, na mafa nʼadwenkyerɛ no so ayɛ bɔne, na wɔnam so abɔ me sobo, asɛe me din.
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 Me Nyankopɔn, kae bɔne a Tobia ne Sanbalat ayɛ no nyinaa. Na kae odiyifobea Noadia ne adiyifo a wɔte sɛ ɔno a wɔpɛe sɛ wohunahuna me no.
[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 Enti Elul ɔsram (bɛyɛ Ɔsannaa) da a ɛto so abien no, wowiee ɔfasu no asiesie, nnafua aduonum abien a wofii dwumadi no ase no mu.
On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.
16 Bere a yɛn atamfo ne aman a wɔatwa yɛn ho ahyia tee no, wosuroe, na ɛma wɔbotowee. Wohuu sɛ Onyankopɔn mmoa na wɔde ayɛ adwuma no.
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 Saa nnafua aduonum abien no mu no, nkrataa bebree dii akɔneaba wɔ Tobia ne Yuda adwumayɛfo no ntam.
During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.
18 Efisɛ na Yudafo bebree aka ntam sɛ, wɔbɛsom no. Afei, na Tobia ase ne Arah babarima Sekania. Na Sekania babarima Yehohanan nso aware Berekia babarima Mesulam babea.
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 Wɔkɔɔ so kaa sɛnea Tobia ho yɛ nwonwa fa no kyerɛɛ me, na wɔkaa biribiara a mekae nso kyerɛɛ no. Na Tobia de ahunahuna nkrataa bebree brɛɛ me.
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.
