Nehemija 1

1 Besede Nehemija, Hahaljájevega sina. Pripetilo se je v mesecu kislévu, v dvajsetem letu, medtem ko sem bil v palači Suze,

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

2 da je prišel Hananí, eden izmed mojih bratov, on in nekateri možje iz Juda. Vprašal sem jih glede Judov, ki so pobegnili, ki so preostali od ujetništva in glede Jeruzalema.

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and [certain] men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 Rekli so mi: »Ostanek, ki je ostal od ujetništva, tam v provinci, je v veliki stiski in graji. Prav tako je porušeno jeruzalemsko obzidje in njegova velika vrata so požgana z ognjem.«

And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province [are] in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also [is] broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.

4 In pripetilo se je, ko sem slišal te besede, da sem se usedel, jokal in žaloval določene dni in se postil ter molil pred Bogom nebes

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned [certain] days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

5 in rekel: »Rotim te, oh Gospod Bog nebes, veliki in strašni Bog, ki ohranja zavezo in usmiljenje za tiste, ki ga ljubijo in obeležujejo njegove zapovedi.

And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

6 Naj bo tvoje uho sedaj pozorno in tvoje oči odprte, da boš lahko slišal molitev svojega služabnika, ki jo sedaj molim pred teboj podnevi in ponoči zaradi tvojih služabnikov, Izraelovih otrok in priznavam grehe Izraelovih otrok, ki smo jih zagrešili zoper tebe. Tako jaz, kakor hiša mojega očeta smo grešili.

Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

7 Zoper tebe smo postopali zelo izprijeno in se nismo držali zapovedi niti zakonov niti sodb, ki si jih zapovedal svojemu služabniku Mojzesu.

We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

8 Spomni se, rotim te, besede, ki jo zapoveduješ svojemu služabniku Mojzesu, rekoč: › Če grešite, vas bom razkropil na tuje, med narode.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, [If] ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9 Toda če se obrnete k meni in se držite mojih zapovedi in jih izpolnjujete, čeprav bi bili izmed vas vrženi v najbolj oddaljen del neba, jih bom vendar zbral od tam in jih privedel na kraj, ki sem ga izbral, da tam postavim svoje ime.‹

But [if] ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, [yet] will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 Torej ti so tvoji služabniki in tvoje ljudstvo, ki si jih odkupil s svojo veliko oblastjo in s svojo močno roko.

Now these [are] thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11 Oh Gospod, rotim te, naj bo sedaj tvoje uho pozorno k molitvi tvojega služabnika in k molitvi tvojih služabnikov, ki se želijo bati tvojega imena. Prosim te, naredi svojega služabnika ta dan uspešnega in zagotovi mu usmiljenje pred očmi tega človeka.« Kajti bil sem kraljevi dvorni točaj.

O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cup-bearer.