Nehemiah 5

1 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

Tam je bilo veliko vpitje ljudstva in njihovih žena zoper njihove brate Jude.

2 And there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many, and we must procure corn that we may eat and live.

Kajti tam so bili, ki so rekli: »Nas, naših sinov in naših hčera je mnogo. Zato zanje zbiramo žito, da bomo lahko jedli in živeli.«

3 And there were that said, We have had to pledge our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses, that we might procure corn in the dearth.

Tam so bili tudi nekateri, ki so rekli: »Zaradi pomanjkanja smo zastavili svoje dežele, vinograde in hiše, da bi lahko kupili žito.«

4 And there were that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute upon our fields and vineyards;

Tam so bili tudi, ki so rekli: »Izposodili smo si denar za kraljevi davek in to [za ceno] naših dežel in vinogradov.

5 yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and behold, we must bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage [already]; neither is it in the power of our hand [to redeem them], for other men have our fields and our vineyards.

Vendar je sedaj naše meso kakor meso naših bratov, naši otroci kakor njihovi otroci. Glej, svoje sinove prinašamo v sužnost in svoje hčere, da bodo služabnice in nekatere izmed naših hčera so že privedene v sužnost. Niti to ni v naši moči, da jih odkupimo, kajti drugi možje imajo naše dežele in vinograde.«

6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.

Bil sem zelo jezen, ko sem slišal njihovo vpitje in te besede.

7 And I consulted with myself; and I remonstrated with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother! And I set a great assembly against them.

Potem sem se posvetoval s seboj in oštel plemiče in vladarje ter jim rekel: »Vi terjate obresti, vsakdo od svojega brata.« In zoper njih sem postavil velik zbor.

8 And I said to them, We, according to our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the nations; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? And they were silent and found no answer.

Rekel sem jim: »Po svoji zmožnosti smo odkupili svoje brate Jude, ki so bili prodani poganom. Vi pa boste celo prodajali svoje brate? Ali naj bi bili oni prodani nam?« Potem so ohranili svoj mir in nič niso našli, da bi odgovorili.

9 And I said, The thing that ye do is not good. Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, so as not to be the reproach of the nations our enemies?

Prav tako sem rekel: »To ni dobro, kar delate. Ali ne bi morali hoditi v strahu našega Boga zaradi graje poganov, naših sovražnikov?

10 I also, my brethren and my servants, we might exact usury of them, money and corn. I pray you, let us leave off this usury.

Tudi jaz in moji bratje in moji služabniki bi lahko od njih terjali denar in žito. Prosim vas, prenehajmo s tem oderuštvom.

11 Restore, I pray you, to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive-gardens, and their houses, also the hundredth [part] of the money, and of the corn, the wine and the oil, that ye have exacted of them.

Povrnite jim, prosim vas, celo ta dan, njihove dežele, njihove vinograde, njihove oljčne nasade in njihove hiše, tudi stoti del denarja in od žita, vina in olja, ki ste jih vzeli od njih.«

12 And they said, We will restore [them], and will require nothing of them; so will we do, as thou hast said. And I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.

Potem so rekli: »Povrnili jim bomo in ničesar ne bomo zahtevali od njih. Storili bomo tako, kakor praviš.« Potem sem poklical duhovnike in od njih vzel prisego, da bi storili glede na to obljubo.

13 Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house and from his earnings, that performeth not this promise: even thus be he shaken out and emptied! And all the congregation said, Amen! And they praised Jehovah. And the people did according to this promise.

Prav tako sem stresel svoje naročje in rekel: »Tako naj Bog iztrese vsakega človeka iz njegove hiše in od njegovega truda, ki ne izpolni te obljube, celo tako bo iztresen in izpraznjen.« In vsa skupnost je rekla: »Amen« in hvalili so Gospoda. In ljudstvo je storilo glede na to obljubo.

14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

Poleg tega od časa, ko sem bil določen, da bi bil njihov voditelj v Judovi deželi, od dvajsetega leta, celo do dvaintridesetega leta kralja Artakserksa, to je dvanajst let, jaz in moji bratje nismo jedli kruha od voditelja.

15 But the former governors that were before me had been chargeable to the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver: even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not so, because of the fear of God.

Toda prejšnji voditelji, ki so bili pred menoj, so bili v breme ljudstvu in so od njih jemali kruh in vino, poleg štiridesetih šeklov srebra. Da, celo njihovi služabniki so vladali nad ljudstvom. Toda zaradi Božjega strahu jaz nisem tako storil.

16 Yea, also I applied myself to this work of the wall, and we bought no fields; and all my servants were gathered thither for the work.

Da, prav tako sem nadaljeval pri delu tega obzidja niti nismo kupili nobene zemlje in vsi moji služabniki so bili zbrani tja k delu.

17 And there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews and the rulers, besides those that came to us from among the nations that were about us.

Poleg tega jih je bilo pri moji mizi sto petdeset izmed Judov in vladarjev, poleg tistih, ki so prišli k nam izmed poganov, ki so okoli nas.

18 And that which was prepared daily was one ox [and] six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days all sorts of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I demanded not the bread of the governor; for the service was heavy upon this people.

Torej tega, kar je bilo dnevno pripravljeno zame, je bilo: en vol in šest izbranih ovc. Tudi perjad je bila pripravljena zame in enkrat na deset dni izbor vseh vrst vina. Vendar za vse to nisem zahteval kruha od voditelja, ker je bilo suženjstvo težko nad tem ljudstvom.

19 Remember for me, my God, for good, all that I have done for this people.

Misli name, moj Bog, za dobro, glede na vse, kar sem storil za to ljudstvo.