Nehemiah 13
1 Te khohnin ah Moses cabu khuikah te pilnam kah a hna ah a tae pah. Te vaengah cabu khuiah te Ammoni neh Moab tah kumhal due Pathen kah hlangping khuila kun sak pawt ham a daek te a hmuh.
One day when the Book of Moses was being read to the people, the section was found where it was written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be allowed into the assembly of God,
2 Israel ca rhoek te buh neh, tui neh a doe uh pawt bueng kolla Israel te thaephoei thil ham Balaam te a paang uh. Tedae kaimih kah Pathen loh rhunkhuennah te yoethennah la a poeh sak.
because they hadn't brought food and water when they met the Israelites, but instead they had hired Balaam to put a curse on them—though our God turned that curse into a blessing!
3 Olkhueng te a yaak van neh namcom boeih tah Israel taeng lamloh a hoep uh.
When the people heard about this law, they separated out from Israel everyone who had foreign ancestry.
4 Te hlan vaengah khosoih Eliashib te Tobiah neh a yoei la kaimih kah Pathen im kah imkhan ah khueh.
Before all this, Eliashib the priest, who was related to Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the Temple of our God.
5 Anih ham te imkhan a len a saii pah. Te dongah a hmai ah khocang, hmueihtui, hnopai, parha pakhat, cangpai, misur thai neh situi khaw, Levi rhoek kah olpaek khaw, laa sa rhoek khaw, thoh tawt rhoek neh khosoih rhoek kah khosaa aka pae khaw pahoi om uh.
He had provided Tobiah with a large room which had previously been used to store the grain offerings, incense, and Temple items, as well as the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil allocated to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, in addition to the offerings for the priests.
6 Te vaeng rhuet te Jerusalem ah ka om moenih. Babylon manghai Artaxerxes kah sawmthum kum nit daengah ni manghai taengla ka mael tih khohnin a thoknah manghai taengah ka bih.
When all this happened I was not in Jerusalem because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I requested permission from the king to go back.
7 Tedae Jerusalem la ka mael vaengah tah Eliashib loh Tobiah ham boethae a saii te ka yakming. Anih ham te Pathen im kah vongup khuiah khai a saii pah.
When I arrived back in Jerusalem I discovered the dreadful thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courtyard of God's Temple.
8 Te lalah kai he muep n'noih dongah Tobiah im kah hnopai boeih te imkhan lamloh poeng la ka voeih pah.
I was extremely upset, and I went and threw out everything that was in Tobiah's room.
9 Ka thui bangla imkhan te a caihcil uh phoeiah ni Pathen im kah hnopai te khaw khocang hmueihtui neh ka mael pueng.
I ordered the rooms purified, and put back the Temple items, the grain offerings, and the incense.
10 Levi rhoek buham a moe pawt te khaw ka ming. Te vaengah Levi khaw, laa sa rhoek khaw, bitat aka saii rhoek khaw amah khohmuen la rhip yong uh.
I also found out that the food allowances for the Levites were not being provided, so the Levites had gone back to take care of their fields, along with the singers who led the worship services.
11 Te dongah ukkung rhoek te ka ho tih, “Pathen im ke balae tih a hnoo?” ka ti nah. Te phoeiah amih te ka coi tih amah paihmuen ah ka pai sak.
I went and confronted the leaders, asking, “Why is God's Temple being neglected?” I called the Levites back and made sure they were carrying out their responsibilities.
12 Te daengah Judah pum loh parha pakhat, cangpai, misur thai neh situi khaw thakvoh khuila a pawk puei uh.
Everyone in Judah then brought the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storerooms.
13 Thakvoh rhoek te khosoih Shelemiah, cadaek Zadok neh Levi lamkah Pedaiah taengah ka kael sak. Amih kut hmuikah Mattaniah koca Zakkuur capa Hanan tah uepom la a moeh uh dongah amih taengah a manuca rhoek ham boe aka soep la ka khueh.
I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, in charge of the storerooms with Hanan, son of Zakkur, son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered honest people. Their responsibility was to distribute the allowances to their fellow Levites.
14 Ka Pathen aw he ham he kai m'poek lah. Ka Pathen im ham neh a rhaltawt rhoek ham ka saii vanbangla ka sitlohnah te na khoe moenih.
My God, please remember me over this. Please don't forget my good deeds I have done for the Temple of my God and its services.
15 Amih tue vaengah Judah khui lamloh Sabbath ah misur rhom aka pok, canghlom aka puen, laak dongah aka tloeng khaw ka hmuh. Te vaengah misurtui, misurthaih, thaibu, hnorhih cungkuem khaw Sabbath hnin ah Jerusalem la a khuen uh. Te dongah amih kah sakah a yoih uh hnin ah tah ka rhalrhing sak.
Around that time I noticed people treading the winepress on Sabbath. I saw others collecting grain and loading it up on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, and bringing it all into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
16 A khuiah nga neh aka phu boeih aka khuen tih Sabbath vaengah Judah koca rhoek taeng neh Jerusalem ah aka yoi Tyre rhoek loh kho a sak uh.
I told them off for selling their produce on that day.
17 Te dongah Judah hlangcoelh rhoek te ka ho tih amih te, “Balae tih boethae hno na saii neh Sabbath hnin na poeih uh.
Some people from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of things and they were selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.
18 Na pa rhoek loh he he a saii uh moenih a? Te dongah ni mamih kah Pathen loh mamih soah neh khopuei soah he yoethae cungkuem a pai sak. Nangmih loh Sabbath na poeih tih Israel te thinsa na koei thiluh.
I confronted the Jewish leaders, asking them, “Why are you are doing such an evil thing? You are violating the Sabbath day! Wasn't this what your forefathers did, bringing our God down on us, causing us and this city such disasters? Now you're bringing even more trouble on us by violating the Sabbath!”
19 Te dongah Sabbath hlan kah Jerusalem vongka a khup nen tah ka ti nah bangla thohkhaih rhoek a khaih uh. Te vaengah Sabbath a poeng hil a ong uh pawt ham ka thui pah. Ka tueihyoeih rhoek te vongka ah ka pai sak tih Sabbath hnin ah hnorhih puen uh voel pawh.
So I ordered Jerusalem's gates to be shut at sunset on the day before the Sabbath, and that were not to be opened until after the Sabbath had ended. I assigned some of my men to guard the gates to make sure no goods would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20 Te dongah thimpom rhoek neh hnoyoih cungkuem aka yoi rhoek tah Jerusalem kah vongvoel ah vai khaw hnavoei khaw rhaeh uh.
A couple of times merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside of Jerusalem.
21 Tedae amih te ka rhalrhing sak tih amamih taengah khaw, “Balae tih vongtung kaep ah na rhaeh uh? Nangmih soah kut kan hlah vetih na talh uh ve saw,” ka ti nah. Te khohnin lamlong tah Sabbath ah mop uh pawh.
I warned them, saying, “Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do that again I'll have you arrested!” After that they didn't come on the Sabbath.
22 Te phoeiah Levi rhoek te khaw a caihcil la om ham, vongka ngaithuen ham aka pawk khaw Sabbath hnin te ciim ham khaw ka uen. Te dongah ka Pathen aw kai he m'poek lah lamtah na sitlohnah loh a cungkuem vanbangla kai he n'rhen lah.
Then I told the Levites to purify themselves and to come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. My God, please also remember me for doing this, and be merciful to me because of your trustworthy love.
23 Te vaeng hnin ah pataeng Judah rhoek loh Ashodi, Ammoni, Moab nu rhoek neh kho a sak uh te ka hmuh.
Around the same time I realized some Jews had married women from Ashdod, Moab, and Ammon.
24 A ca rhoek khaw rhakthuem Ashodi ol la cal uh tih amih te pilnam neh pilnam pataeng Judah ol la a voek ham hmat uh pawh.
Half their children could only speak the language of Ashdod or that of another people, and didn't know how to speak the language of Judah.
25 Te dongah amih te ka ho tih thae ka phoei. Amih hlang te ka taam tih ka poelh. Amih te Pathen taengah ka toemngam, “Na tanu te amih koca rhoek taengla pae uh ve. Amih nu te na ca rhoek ham neh namamih ham na lo uh ve.
So I confronted them and told them they were cursed. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God, saying, “You must not allow your daughters to marry their sons, or allow your sons—or yourselves— to marry their daughters.
26 Israel manghai Solomon khaw he nen he a tholh dongah moenih a? Namtom te yet lakli ah anih bang manghai a om moenih. A Pathen loh a lungnah la a om dongah anih te Pathen loh Israel boeih soah manghai la a khueh lalah anih te kholong nu rhoek loh a tholh sak.
Wasn't it marriages like these that made King Solomon of Israel sin? There wasn't a king in any nation like him. God loved him, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was made to sin by foreign women.
27 He boethae duet boeih saii ham, mamih Pathen taengah boekoek ham, kholong nu neh khosak ham a nangmih kawng khaw ka yaak eh?
So do we have to hear about you committing this dreadful sin, how you are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 Te dongah khosoih len Eliashib capa Joiada koca lamkah Khoroni Sanballat kah a cava khaw ka taeng lamloh ka yong sak.
Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I expelled him.
29 Ka Pathen aw amih te poek lah. A khosoihbi khaw, a khosoihbi neh Levi paipi khaw a noknah.
My God, remember them and what they did, violating the priesthood and the solemn agreement of the priests and Levites.
30 Amih te kholong boeih taeng lamloh ka caihcil tih hamsum te khosoih la, Levi la a bitat dongah rhip ka pai sak.
I purified them from everything foreign, and I made sure the priests and Levites were carrying out their assigned responsibilities.
31 A tue a caeng vaengkah nawnnah thing ham neh thaihcuek ham khaw, Pathen aw ka taengkah he ka hnothen la poek mai.
I also arranged for wood to be supplied for the altar at the specified times, and for the first part of the produce to be donated. My God, remember me favorably.
