2
Nehemiah Sent to Judah
1And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of ⚓King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that ⚓I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
2Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but ⚓sorrow of heart.”
So I became dreadfully afraid,
3and said to the king, ⚓“May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when ⚓the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with ⚓fire?”
4Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”
So I ⚓prayed to the God of heaven.
5And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
6Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him ⚓a time.
7Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the ⚓governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,
8and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains⚓to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me ⚓according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10When ⚓Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.
Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem
11So I ⚓came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.
13And I went out by night ⚓through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were ⚓broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.
14Then I went on to the ⚓Fountain Gate and to the ⚓King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.
15So I went up in the night by the ⚓valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.
17Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be ⚓a reproach.”
18And I told them of ⚓the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.
So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they ⚓set their hands to this good work.
19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ⚓Will you rebel against the king?”
20So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, ⚓but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
2
Nehemis Rov Los Rau Hauv Yeluxalees
1Tau plaub lub hlis tom qab no muaj ib hnub thaum Huabtais Ataxawxes tseem tabtom noj mov, kuv ce cawv txiv hmab mus rua nws haus. Yav tas los nws tsis tau pom dua kuv ua ntsejmuag mluas mlob li no,
2huabtais thiaj li nug kuv hais tias, “Vim li cas koj yuav mluas ua luaj? Koj twb tsis mob qhov twg ne, ua li cas zoo li koj yuav nyuaj siab ua luaj?”
Kuv poob siab nthav,
3kuv thiaj teb nws hais tias, “Thov kom Huabtais muaj txojsia nyob mus ibtxhis! Kuv yuav ua li cas zais tau kuv lub ntsejmuag uas muaj kev nyuaj siab rau lub tsamthawj uas lub nroog uas yog thaj chaw thaum ub muab kuv cov yawgkoob faus rau, raug puastsuaj tas thiab tej roojvag nroog los raug luag muab hlawv kub hnyiab tas huv tibsi lawm?”
4Huabtais thiaj li nug kuv hais tias, “Yog li ntawd koj xav tau dabtsi?”
Kuv thov Vajtswv tus uas nyob saum Ntuj,
5thiab kuv hais rau huabtais tias, “Yog koj txaus siab rau kuv thiab yuav pub raws li kuv tej lus thov, thov koj tso kuv rov mus rau tim tebchaws Yudas, mus rau hauv lub nroog uas yog thaj chaw faus kuv cov yawgkoob, kuv yuav mus txhim kho lub nroog ntawd dua tshiab.”
6Huabtais pom zoo li uas kuv tau thov (niam huabtais zaum ntawm huabtais ib sab). Huabtais thiaj nug kuv hais tias, “Koj yuav mus ntev li cas, koj mam li rov qab los?” Kuv thiaj qhia lub sijhawm rau nws paub.
7Ces kuv thiaj thov huabtais sau ib tsab ntawv rau kuv nqa mus rau tus tswvxeev uas kav lub xeev ntawm tus Dej Efalates sab Hnubpoob, kom kuv thiaj mus tau rau nram tebchaws Yudas.
8Thiab kuv tseem thov huabtais sau ib tsab ntawv rau Axas, tus uas zov huabtais tej havzoov, kom txiav ntoo pub rau kuv coj mus ua cov roojvag ntawm cov chaw fajxwm rau cov neeg uas nyob zov lub Tuamtsev, ua tej ntsa yeej thaiv lub nroog thiab ua ib lub tsev rau kuv nyob. Huabtais ua txhua yam rau kuv raws li kuv tau thov, rau qhov Vajtswv nrog nraim kuv nyob.
9Huabtais tau tso ib co tubrog mus taw thiab ib co tubrog caij nees nrog kuv mus, ces kuv thiaj li sawv kev mus rau ntawm tus dej Efalates sab Hnubpoob. Thaum kuv mus txog lawm, kuv thiaj li muab huabtais cov ntawv rau tus tswvxeev.
10Tiamsis Xanpalas uas yog neeg nyob hauv lub nroog Npethes Hauloos thiab Taunpias uas yog ib tug nom nyob hauv lub xeev Amoos hnov hais tias muaj ib cov neeg tau los pab ua haujlwm kom cov Yixalayees tau zoo, mas nkawd chim kawg li.
11Kuv thiaj li mus kiag rau hauv lub nroog Yeluxalees tau peb hnub nkaus,
12kuv yeej tsis qhia rau leejtwg paub txog qhov uas Vajtswv tshoov kuv siab kom kuv los kho lub nroog Yeluxalees li. Ces thaum ib taghmo kuv thiaj li sawv thiab coj kuv cov phoojywg qee leej nrog kuv tawm mus, tiamsis tsis tau nees txhua rau peb caij, tsuas tau ib tug neesluav rau kuv caij xwb.
13Thaum tsaus ntuj kuv thiaj tawm hauv lub nroog mus rau ntawm lub Roojvag Hav uas nyob rau sab hnubpoob thiab kuv ncig mus rau sab qabteb mus hla lub Qhovdej Zaj thiab mus rau ntawm lub Roojvag Quavhlawv. Kuv mus tshuaj xyuas lub nroog Yeluxalees tus ntsa yeej uas pob tas thiab tej roojvag uas kub hnyiab tas lawm.
14Ces kuv thiaj mus ntawm lub nroog sab hnubtuaj nce mus rau sab qaumteb, mus txog ntawm lub Roojvag Qhovdej thiab ntawm Vajntxwv lub Pasdej; tiamsis tus neesluav uas kuv caij nrhiav tsis tau kev mus li lawm.
15Yog li ntawd, kuv thiaj caij tus neesluav nqis mus rau hauv lub Hav Kiloos thiab mus saib tus ntsa yeej. Ces kuv thiaj taug kuv txoj qub kev rov qab chaws lub Roojvag Hav los rau hauv lub nroog lawm.
16Cov nomtswv uas nyob hauv lub nroog yeej tsis paub hais tias kuv mus qhov twg rau qhov twg lossis tsis paub txog tej uas kuv ua tas ntawd li. Kuv yeej tsis tau qhia ib yam dabtsi rau kuv cov phoojywg Yudas, cov povthawj, cov thawjcoj, cov nomtswv lossis lwm tus uas muaj feem yuav tau los nrog koom tuav lub luag haujlwm no hlo li thiab.
17Tiamsis nimno kuv hais rau lawv tias, “Nej twb pom tej teebmeem kev ntxhov siab uas muaj nyob hauv peb no lawm, vim hais tias lub nroog Yeluxalees puastsuaj tas nphob xuav cia thiab tej roojvag los twb puas tas lawm! Peb cia li pib txhim kho tus ntsa yeej uas thaiv lub nroog no dua tshiab, peb thiaj tsis txajmuag rau luag ntiajtog qaumpes.”
18Kuv qhia tej uas Vajtswv nrog nraim kuv, pab kuv thiab tej lus uas huabtais hais rau kuv ntawd rau lawv mloog.
Lawv thiaj li lees hais tias, “Cia li pib kho tamsim no ntag!” Ces lawv txawm nqis tes pib ua haujlwm.
19Thaum Xanpalas, Tunpias thiab ib tug neeg Alav uas hu ua Nkesees hnov hais tias peb npaj ua haujlwm lawm, lawv txawm luag peb thiab hais tias, “Nej xav li cas nej thiaj yuav ua? Nej tawmtsam huabtais los?”
20Kuv teb lawv hais tias, “Vajtswv tus uas nyob saum Ntuj ceebtsheej yuav pab peb ua kom tiav. Peb yog nws cov tubtxib thiab peb tabtom pib txhim kho lawm ntag. Nej tsis muaj feem nyob hauv lub nroog Yeluxalees no, thiab nej tsis muaj feem koom ib yam dabtsi uas nyob hauv lub nroog no hlo li.”