Nsiesie No Ntiamu Kɔɔ So Ara
1Ɛberɛ a Sanbalat, Tobia, Arabni Gesem ne yɛn atamfoɔ nkaeɛ no hunuu sɛ masiesie ɔfasuo no awie a ɛkwan biara nneda ntam a ɛnso yɛnsisii apono no, 2Sanbalat ne Gesem de nkra brɛɛ me sɛ, menhyia wɔn nkuraa no baako a ɛwɔ Ono tata so. Nanso, mehunuu sɛ wɔrepam me tiri so, 3enti memaa wɔn mmuaeɛ sɛ, “Mereyɛ adwuma kɛseɛ bi a merentumi nnyae mmɛhyia mo.” 4Wɔtoo me saa nkra no mpɛn ɛnan. Ne nyinaa mu, memaa mmuaeɛ korɔ no ara.
5Ne mpɛn enum so no, Sanbalat ɔsomfoɔ kura krataa a wɔatwerɛ baeɛ. 6Na krataa no mu nsɛm nie:
“Gesem aka akyerɛ me sɛ, baabiara a ɔbɛkɔ no, ɔte sɛ wo ne Yudafoɔ no repam ayɛ dɔm, na ɛno enti na woresiesie ɔfasuo no. Deɛ ɔka ne sɛ, wopɛ sɛ wobɛdi wɔn so ɔhene. 7Ɔkɔ so ka sɛ, woayi adiyifoɔ bi sɛ wɔnhyɛ wo ho nkɔm wɔ Yerusalem sɛ, ‘Monhwɛ! Ɔhene bi wɔ Yuda!’ Ɛsɛ sɛ wogye to mu sɛ, saa asɛm yi bɛduru ɔhene aso mu, enti ɛsɛ sɛ woba, na wo ne me bɛka ho asɛm.”
8Mebuaa sɛ, “Wonim sɛ woretwa atorɔ. Asɛm a woreka no, nokorɛ baako koraa nni mu.”
9Huna na na wɔpɛ sɛ wɔhunahuna yɛn. Na wɔsusu sɛ wɔbɛtumi abu yɛn aba mu na yɛgyae adwuma no yɛ. Ɛno enti, mebɔɔ mpaeɛ sɛ mɛnya ahoɔden de atoa dwumadie no so.
10Akyire no, mekɔsraa Delaia babarima a ɔyɛ Mehetabel nana Semaia a ɔhyɛ ne fie na ɔnnkɔ baabiara no. Ɔkaa sɛ, “Ma yɛn nhyia wɔ Onyankopɔn asɔredan no mu, na yɛmmram apono no akyi. Wʼatamfoɔ reba abɛkum wo anadwo yi.”
11Na mebuaa sɛ, “Enti, ɛsɛ sɛ obi a ɔte sɛ me dwane amanehunu anaa? Enti, ɛsɛ sɛ obi a ɔte sɛ me bɛkɔ akɔhinta Asɔredan mu de apere me nkwa anaa? Dabi, merenyɛ saa!” 12Mehunuu sɛ Onyankopɔn nkasa nkyerɛɛ no, na ne nkɔm a ɔhyɛeɛ no tia me, ɛfiri sɛ, Tobia ne Sanbalat abɔ no paa. 13Na wɔsusu sɛ wɔbɛhunahuna me, na mafa nʼadwenkyerɛ no so ayɛ bɔne, na wɔnam so abɔ me soboɔ, asɛe me din.
14Ao me Onyankopɔn, kae bɔne a Tobia ne Sanbalat ayɛ no nyinaa. Na kae odiyifoɔ baa Noadia ne adiyifoɔ a wɔte sɛ ɔno a wɔpɛɛ sɛ wɔhunahuna me no.
Adansifoɔ No Wie Ɔfasuo No To
15Enti, Elul bosome (bɛyɛ Ɔsannaa) da a ɛtɔ so mmienu no, wɔwiee ɔfasuo no nsiesie, nnafua aduonum mmienu a wɔhyɛɛ dwumadie no ase. 16Ɛberɛ a yɛn atamfoɔ ne aman a wɔatwa yɛn ho ahyia teeɛ no, wɔsuroeɛ, na ɛma wɔbotoeɛ. Wɔhunuu sɛ Onyankopɔn mmoa na wɔde ayɛ adwuma no.
17Saa nnafua aduonum mmienu no mu, nkrataa bebree dii akɔneaba wɔ Tobia ne Yuda adwumayɛfoɔ no ntam. 18Ɛfiri sɛ, na Yudafoɔ bebree aka ntam sɛ, wɔbɛsom no. Afei, na Tobia ase ne Arah babarima Sekania. Na Sekania babarima Yehohanan nso aware Berekia babarima Mesulam babaa. 19Wɔkɔɔ so kaa sɛdeɛ Tobia ho yɛ nwanwa fa no kyerɛɛ me, na afei, wɔkaa biribiara a mekaeɛ nso kyerɛɛ no. Na Tobia de ahunahuna nkrataa bebree brɛɛ me.
Nehemiah’s Enemies Continue to Oppose the Rebuilding
1Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, the Arab, heard about what I had done. So did the rest of our enemies. All of them heard I had rebuilt the wall. In fact, they heard there weren’t any gaps left in it. But up to that time I hadn’t put up the gates at the main entrances to the city. 2Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message. They said, “Come. Let’s talk with one another. Let’s meet in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”
But they were planning to harm me. 3So I sent messengers to them with my answer. I replied, “I’m working on a huge project. So I can’t get away. Why should the work stop while I leave it? Why should I go down and talk with you?” 4They sent me the same message four times. And I gave them the same answer each time.
5Sanballat sent his helper to me a fifth time. He brought the same message. He was carrying a letter that wasn’t sealed. 6It said,
“A report is going around among the nations. Geshem says it’s true. We hear that you and the other Jews are planning to turn against the Persian rulers. And that’s why you are building the wall. It’s also reported that you are about to become their king. 7People say that you have even appointed prophets to make an announcement about you. In Jerusalem they are going to say, ‘Judah has a king!’ That report will get back to the king of Persia. So come. Let’s meet together.”
8I sent a reply to Sanballat. I said, “What you are saying isn’t really happening. You are just making it up.”
9All of them were trying to frighten us. They thought, “Their hands will get too weak to do the work. So it won’t be completed.”
But I prayed to God. I said, “Make my hands stronger.”
10One day I went to Shemaiah’s house. He was the son of Delaiah. Delaiah was the son of Mehetabel. Shemaiah had shut himself up in his home. He said, “Let’s go to God’s house. Let’s meet inside the temple and close the doors. Some men are coming at night to kill you.”
11But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Should someone like me go into the temple just to save his life? No! I won’t go!” 12I realized that God hadn’t sent Shemaiah. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. That’s why he had prophesied lies about me. 13They had hired him to scare me. They wanted me to commit a sin by doing what he said. That would give me a bad name in the community. People would find fault with me and my work.
14You are my God. Remember what Tobiah and Sanballat have done. Also remember the prophet Noadiah. She and the rest of the prophets have been trying to scare me. 15So the city wall was completed on the 25th day of the month of Elul. It was finished in 52 days.
Nehemiah’s Enemies Oppose the Completed Wall
16All our enemies heard about it. All the nations around us became afraid. They weren’t sure of themselves anymore. They realized that our God had helped us finish the work.
17In those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah. And replies from Tobiah came back to them. 18Many people in Judah had promised that they would be faithful to him. That’s because he was Shekaniah’s son-in-law. Shekaniah was the son of Arah. Tobiah’s son Jehohanan had married Meshullam’s daughter. Meshullam was the son of Berekiah. 19Tobiah’s friends kept reporting to me the good things he did. They also kept telling him what I said. And Tobiah himself sent letters to scare me.
