نَحَمْيَا 6

١ 1 وَلَمَّا سَمِعَ سَنْبَلَّطُ وَطُوبِيَّا وَجَشَمٌ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ وَبَقِيَّةُ أَعْدَائِنَا أَنِّي قَدْ بَنَيْتُ ٱلسُّورَ وَلَمْ تَبْقَ فِيهِ ثُغْرَةٌ، عَلَى أَنِّي لَمْ أَكُنْ إِلَى ذَلِكَ ٱلْوَقْتِ قَدْ أَقَمْتُ مَصَارِيعَ لِلْأَبْوَابِ،

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).

٢ 2 أَرْسَلَ سَنْبَلَّطُ وَجَشَمٌ إِلَيَّ قَائِلَيْنِ: «هَلُمَّ نَجْتَمِعُ مَعًا فِي ٱلْقُرَى فِي بُقْعَةِ أُونُو». وَكَانَا يُفَكِّرَانِ أَنْ يَعْمَلَا بِي شَرًّا.

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].

٣ 3 فَأَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْهِمَا رُسُلًا قَائِلًا: «إِنِّي أَنَا عَامِلٌ عَمَلًا عَظِيمًا فَلَا أَقْدْرُ أَنْ أَنْزِلَ. لِمَاذَا يَبْطُلُ ٱلْعَمَلُ بَيْنَمَا أَتْرُكُهُ وَأَنْزِلُ إِلَيْكُمَا؟»

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]

٤ 4 وَأَرْسَلَا إِلَيَّ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا ٱلْكَلَامِ أَرْبَعَ مَرَّاتٍ، وَجَاوَبْتُهُمَا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا ٱلْجَوَابِ.

They sent me the same message four times, and each time when I replied to them I said the same thing.

٥ 5 فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيَّ سَنْبَلَّطُ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا ٱلْكَلَامِ مَرَّةً خَامِسَةً مَعَ غُلَامِهِ بِرِسَالَةٍ مَنْشُورَةٍ بِيَدِهِ مَكْتُوبٌ فِيهَا:

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.

٦ 6 «قَدْ سُمِعَ بَيْنَ ٱلْأُمَمِ، وَجَشَمٌ يَقُولُ: إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ وَٱلْيَهُودُ تُفَكِّرُونَ أَنْ تَتَمَرَّدُوا، لِذَلِكَ أَنْتَ تَبْنِي ٱلسُّورَ لِتَكُونَ لَهُمْ مَلِكًا حَسَبَ هَذِهِ ٱلْأُمُورِ.

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.

٧ 7 وَقَدْ أَقَمْتَ أَيْضًا أَنْبِيَاءَ لِيُنَادُوا بِكَ فِي أُورُشَلِيمَ قَائِلِينَ: فِي يَهُوذَا مَلِكٌ. وَٱلْآنَ يُخْبَرُ ٱلْمَلِكُ بِهَذَا ٱلْكَلَامِ. فَهَلُمَّ ٱلْآنَ نَتَشَاوَرُ مَعًا».

[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.”

٨ 8 فَأَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْهِ قَائِلًا: «لَا يَكُونُ مِثْلُ هَذَا ٱلْكَلَامِ ٱلَّذِي تَقُولُهُ، بَلْ إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُخْتَلِقُهُ مِنْ قَلْبِكَ».

[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.”

٩ 9 لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا جَمِيعًا يُخِيفُونَنَا قَائِلِينَ: «قَدِ ٱرْتَخَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ عَنِ ٱلْعَمَلِ فَلَا يُعْمَلُ».«فَٱلْآنَ يَا إِلَهِي شَدِّدْ يَدَيَّ».

[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].

١٠ 10 وَدَخَلْتُ بَيْتَ شَمْعِيَا بْنِ دَلَايَا بْنِ مَهِيطَبْئِيلَ وَهُوَ مُغْلَقٌ، فَقَالَ: «لِنَجْتَمِعْ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱللهِ إِلَى وَسَطِ ٱلْهَيْكَلِ وَنُقْفِلْ أَبْوَابَ ٱلْهَيْكَلِ، لِأَنَّهُمْ يَأْتُونَ لِيَقْتُلُوكَ. فِي ٱللَّيْلِ يَأْتُونَ لِيَقْتُلُوكَ».

[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.”

١١ 11 فَقُلْتُ: «أَرَجُلٌ مِثْلِي يَهْرُبُ؟ وَمَنْ مِثْلِي يَدْخُلُ ٱلْهَيْكَلَ فَيَحْيَا؟ لَا أَدْخُلُ!».

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!”

١٢ 12 فَتَحَقَّقْتُ وَهُوَذَا لَمْ يُرْسِلْهُ ٱللهُ لِأَنَّهُ تَكَلَّمَ بِٱلنُّبُوَّةِ عَلَيَّ، وَطُوبِيَّا وَسَنْبَلَّطُ قَدِ ٱسْتَأْجَرَاهُ.

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].

١٣ 13 لِأَجْلِ هَذَا قَدِ ٱسْتُؤْجِرَ لِكَيْ أَخَافَ وَأَفْعَلَ هَكَذَا وَأُخْطِئَ، فَيَكُونَ لَهُمَا خَبَرٌ رَدِيءٌ لِكَيْ يُعَيِّرَانِي.

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.

١٤ 14 ٱذْكُرْ يَا إِلَهِي طُوبِيَّا وَسَنْبَلَّطَ حَسَبَ أَعْمَالِهِمَا هَذِهِ، وَنُوعَدْيَةَ ٱلنَّبِيَّةَ وَبَاقِيَ ٱلْأَنْبِيَاءِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُخِيفُونَنِي.

[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.”

١٥ 15 وَكَمِلَ ٱلسُّورُ فِي ٱلْخَامِسِ وَٱلْعِشْرِينَ مِنْ أَيْلُولَ، فِي ٱثْنَيْنِ وَخَمْسِينَ يَوْمًا.

On October 2 we finished rebuilding the wall. We did it all in 52 days.

١٦ 16 وَلَمَّا سَمِعَ كُلُّ أَعْدَائِنَا وَرَأَى جَمِيعُ ٱلْأُمَمِ ٱلَّذِينَ حَوَالَيْنَا، سَقَطُوا كَثِيرًا فِي أَعْيُنِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ، وَعَلِمُوا أَنَّهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ إِلَهِنَا عُمِلَ هَذَا ٱلْعَمَلُ.

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].

١٧ 17 وَأَيْضًا فِي تِلْكَ ٱلْأَيَّامِ أَكْثَرَ عُظَمَاءُ يَهُوذَا تَوَارُدَ رَسَائِلِهِمْ عَلَى طُوبِيَّا، وَمِنْ عِنْدِ طُوبِيَّا أَتَتِ ٱلرَّسَائِلُ إِلَيْهِمْ.

During this time, the Jewish leaders had been sending many messages/letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah had been sending messages back to them.

١٨ 18 لِأَنَّ كَثِيرِينَ فِي يَهُوذَا كَانُوا أَصْحَابَ حِلْفٍ لَهُ، لِأَنَّهُ صِهْرُ شَكَنْيَا بْنِ آرَحَ، وَيَهُوحَانَانُ ٱبْنُهُ أَخَذَ بِنْتَ مَشُلَّامَ بْنِ بَرَخْيَا.

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.

١٩ 19 وَكَانُوا أَيْضًا يُخْبِرُونَ أَمَامِي بِحَسَنَاتِهِ، وَكَانُوا يُبَلِّغُونَ كَلَامِي إِلَيْهِ. وَأَرْسَلَ طُوبِيَّا رَسَائِلَ لِيُخَوِّفَنِي.

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.