Nehemiah 2
1 After King Artaxerxes [had been ruling the Persian Empire] for almost 20 years, (during the spring/before the hot season) of that year, when it was time to serve wine to him [during a feast], I took the wine and gave it to him. I had never looked sad when I was in front of him before, [but on that day he saw that I looked very sad].
Lè sa a, wa Atagzèsès te gen ventan depi li t'ap gouvènen, nou te nan mitan mwa Nisan. Jou sa a, se te tou pa m' pou m' te pote diven bay wa a. Mwen pran diven an, mwen pote l' ba li. Li pa t' janm konn wè m' parèt devan l' kagou.
2 So he asked me, “Why are you sad? [I know that] you are not sick. It must be that you are troubled about something.” Then I was very afraid, [because it was not proper to be sad when I came to the king] (OR, [because I was worried what the king would do to me if he refused to do what I was about to request him to do]).
Epi li di m' konsa: -Ki jan figi ou fè rale konsa? Se pa malad ou malad? Kisa k'ap fè ou lapenn konsa? Lè sa a m'ap mande nan kè m' sa ki pral rive m'.
3 I replied, “Your majesty, I hope you will live a very long time! But (how can I prevent myself from being sad, because the city where my ancestors are buried [has been destroyed] and is in ruins?/I cannot keep myself from looking sad, because the city where my ancestors are buried [has been destroyed and] is in ruins.) [RHQ] [Even] the city gates have been completely burned.”
Mwen reponn li: -Mwen swete pou monwa viv lontan! Men, ki jan pou m' fè pa kagou lè lavil kote zansèt mwen yo antere a ap fin kraze, lè dife fin boule tout pòtay li yo?
4 The king replied, “What do you want me to do [for you]?” I prayed [silently] to our God [who is/rules] in heaven.
Wa a di m' konsa: -Kisa ou ta renmen m' fè pou ou? Mwen lapriyè Bondye ki nan syèl la nan kè m'.
5 Then I replied, “If you are willing [to do it], and if I have pleased you, send me to the city [of Jerusalem] in Judah [province] where my ancestors are buried, in order that I may [help people to] rebuild the city.”
Epi mwen reponn li: -Si sa fè monwa plezi, si ou kontan jan m'ap sèvi ou la, tanpri, kite m' ale nan peyi Jida, nan lavil kote zansèt mwen yo antere a, pou m' ka rebati l'.
6 While the queen was sitting beside the king, he asked, [“If I allow you to go, ] how long will you be gone? When will you return?” [I told the king how long I would be gone, and] the king gave me permission to go, and I told him what day [I wanted to leave].
Wa a te chita avèk larenn li bò kote l', li mande m': -Konbe tan vwayaj la pral pran ou? Kilè w'a tounen? Mwen di l' konbe tan sa ka pran m'. Epi li dakò pou l' kite m' ale.
7 I also said to the king, “If you are willing to do it, write letters for me to take to the governors of the province west of the [Euphrates] River. Tell them to allow me to travel safely [through their province] until I arrive in Judah.
Lè sa a, mwen di wa a: -Si sa fè monwa plezi, li ta fè ekri kèk lèt pou mwen pou gouvènè ki nan pwovens lòt bò larivyè Lefrat yo, pou yo ka kite m' pase jouk mwen rive nan peyi Jida.
8 Also, [please write] a letter to Asaph, the man who takes care of your forest [in that area], telling him to give me timber to make the beams to support the gates of the fortress that is near the temple, and timber for making the walls of the city, and for building the house in which I [will live].” The king did what I requested him to do, because my God was graciously/kindly (helping/acting for) me.
Li ta ban m' yon lèt tou pou Azaf, chèf ki reskonsab rakbwa leta yo, pou l' ka ban mwen bwa pou gwo pòtay fò k'ap pwoteje tanp lan, bwa pou ranpa lavil la ak bwa pou kay kote pou m' rete a. Wa a ban mwen tou sa mwen te mande l' paske Bondye te avèk mwen.
9 [After I got ready, I left to travel to Judah]. The king sent some army officers and soldiers riding on horses to accompany me, [to protect me]. When I came to where the governors of the provinces west of the [Euphrates] River lived, I gave them the letters that the king had written.
Wa a te voye kèk ofisye nan lame a ak kèk kavalye pou ale avè m'. Se konsa, mwen pati pou pwovens ki lòt bò larivyè Lefrat la, mwen pase lakay tout gouvènè yo, mwen renmèt yo lèt wa a te ban mwen pou yo.
10 But when [two government officials, ] Sanballat from [a village near] Horon and Tobiah from the Ammon [people-group], heard that I had arrived, they were very angry that someone had come to help the Israeli people.
Men, lè Sanbala, moun lavil Bèt-Owon, ak Tobija, yon moun peyi Amon ki t'ap travay nan gouvènman an, vin konnen te gen yon nonm ki te vin travay pou byen pèp Izrayèl la, sa te gate san yo anpil.
11 When I arrived in Jerusalem, I did not tell anyone what thoughts God had given to me about what I should do there. Three days after I arrived in Jerusalem, I went out of the city in the evening, taking a few other men with me. I was riding a donkey; we had no other animals with us.
Lè m' rive lavil Jerizalèm, mwen kite twa jou pase anvan m' fè anyen.
Apre sa, mwen leve nan mitan lannwit, mwen pran kèk moun pa m' avè m'. Mwen pati san m' pa di pesonn sa Bondye te ban m' lide fè pou lavil Jerizalèm. Sèl bèt nou te pran ak nou, se te bèt pou m' moute a.
13 We left the city, going out through the Valley Gate, then past the well called the Jackal (OR, Dragon’s) Well, and then past the gate called the Rubbish/Garbage Gate. We inspected all the walls that had been broken down and all the gates that had been burned down.
Li te fè nwa. Nou soti nan pòtay Ti Fon an ki sou bò lwès, nou vire desann nan direksyon sid, nou pase devan Fontenn Dragon an, ak devan pòtay Depotwa a. Sou tout wout la, mwen t'ap egzaminen eta ranpa lavil Jerizalèm lan, kote ki te gen twou ak pòtay dife te boule yo.
14 Then we went to the Fountain Gate and to the pool called the King’s Pool, but my donkey could not get through [the narrow opening] (OR, [the rubble]).
Mwen vanse pi devan, mwen vire sou bò nò. Mwen pase devan pòtay Fontenn lan ak Rezèvwa Wa a. Lè m' rive la, bèt mwen te moute a pa t' ka jwenn kote pou l' pase.
15 So we turned back and went along the [Kidron] Valley. We inspected the wall there before we turned back/around and entered the city again at the Valley Gate.
Nan fènwa a, mwen pase nan ravin lan, mwen moute nan direksyon nò. Mwen t'ap egzaminen eta miray la byen. Apre sa, mwen kase tèt tounen sou menm chemen m' te pase a, mwen antre nan lavil la, nan pòtay Ti-Fon an.
16 The [city] officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because I had not told anyone about what I planned to do. I had not said anything about it to the Jewish leaders or the officials or the priests or any of the others who would be helping me in the work [that I wanted to do].
Pesonn nan chèf lavil yo pa t' konnen kote m' te ale ni sa m' te al fè. Lè sa a, mwen pa t' ankò di jwif yo anyen, ni prèt yo, ni chèf yo, ni majistra yo, ni ankenn lòt moun ki te reskonsab travay reparasyon yo.
17 But now I said to them, “You all know very well the terrible things [that have happened to] our city. The city is ruined; even the gates are burned down. So we should rebuild the city wall. If we do that, we will no longer feel humiliated/disgraced.”
Men lè sa a, mwen di yo: -Nou wè nan ki traka nou ye avèk lavil Jerizalèm k'ap fin kraze nan men nou avèk pòtay boule li yo. Vini non! Ann al rebati miray ranpa lavil la! Moun va sispann fè nou wont.
18 Then I told them about how God had kindly/graciously helped me [when I talked to the king], and what the king had said to me. They immediately replied, “Let’s start rebuilding!” So they started to do this good work.
Lè sa a, mwen fè yo konnen ki jan Bondye te la avè m' pou pwoteje m' ak tou sa wa a te di m'. Yo reponn: -Bon. Annavan! Ann al rebati! Epi yo ranje kò yo pou mete men nan travay la.
19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gershom the Arab [king of the Kedar region] heard about what we planned to do, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They said, “What is this work that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king [again]?” [RHQ]
Men, lè Sanbala, moun lavil Bèt-Owon an, Tobija, moun Amon ki t'ap travay nan gouvènman an, ak Gechèm, arab la, vin pran nouvèl la, yo ri nou kont kò yo, epi yo pase nou nan kont betiz yo. Yo di nou: -Sa n'ap fè la a, mesye? Apa n'ap dezobeyi lòd wa a!
20 But I replied, “Our God [who is/rules] in heaven will help our plans to succeed. But as for you, you have no right to decide anything about this city, because you have not participated in what has happened in this city in previous years.”
Mwen reponn, mwen di yo: -Se Bondye nan syèl la k'ap fè nou reyisi nan sa nou vle fè a. Nou menm ki sèvitè Bondye, nou pral konmanse rebati l'. Men nou menm, moun lòt nasyon, nou pa gen ankenn dwa sou lavil Jerizalèm. Nou pa gen anyen pou nou wè nan sa. Pesonn pa janm nonmen non nou nan koze lavil Jerizalèm.
