Basi Baiziraela banodusiwa
1 Kwakati mu zhuba ilelo labakabe bebalila bathu lukwalo gwa Mushe, bakanowila panoti kusibe N'amoni kene Moabu ungadumigwa kungina mu gubungano le Ndzimu nenge limwe zhuba, 2 ngobe abazo bhatsha Baiziraela nge zojiwa nenge vula koga bakatapa Bhalamu kuti abalonge bhiso ndizo Ndzimu wedu ukashandula bhiso ilelo likabe gombolelo. 3 Baiziraela bakati behwa nlayo iwoyo ubagwa bakazwidusa mu bazhi kuti basibe mubali.
4 Mbeli kwa ikoku, Eliyashibi we mpirisiti wakabe abigwa ali iye wakalingisana nge kutjengeta matula e Ng'umba ye Ndzimu wedu, wakabe eshinga kwazo kwazo na Tobiya, 5 ngono wakalulwamisila Tobiya ng'umba hwuluhwulu yakabe ishingisiwa kubiganyigwa zwipo zwe mathunde ne zwino nnuwisa zwakanaka ne zwimwe zwija zwe Ng'umba ye Ndzimu ne zwebugumi zwe mathunde ne nkumbi we zhambi ne mafuta, izo zwakabe zwadusiwa nge nlayo wakapiwa Balevi ne bambi ne balingilili be mikoba ne bapirisiti. 6 Koga izwezwi zwakati zwishingikala ndakabe ndisi ku Jerusalema, ngobe mu gole le bumakole matatu ana makole mabili (32) ili gole la Atazezasi mambo we Bhabhiloni ndakayenda kuna mambo, koga shule kwe gole akumbila mambo kuti bandisunungule ndi bgwilile. 7 Ndizo wali azha mu Jerusalema, ngono abona bubi gwakathamwa ndi Eliyashibi gwekululwamisila Tobiya ng'umba mu bhakasa le Ng'umba ye Ndzimu. 8 Ngono ndakagwadza moyo kwazo, atola zwija zwa Tobiya azwiposela kuzhe. 9 Ngono kudwapo adusa ndaulo kuti ng'umba iyeyi itjenapadziwe, kube kubgwiliziwa zwija zose zwe Ng'umba ye Ndzimu nge tjipo tje mathunde ne tjinonuhwa zwakanaka.
10 Ndakawana ili kuti Balevi abazopiwa mitezho yabo, ngono awana ili kuti Balevi ne bambi bakabe bakalingisana nge nshingo we Ng'umba ye Ndzimu bakabgwilila ku minda yabo. 11 Ndakatukanya batungamili kuti ini Ng'umba ye Ndzimu yakaletjedzegwa. Ngono kudwapo ndakabadana abakubunganya ngono ababiga nge magalo abo. 12 Bathu bose be Juda bakazhisa zwebugumi zwe mathunde ne nkumbi we zhambi ne mafuta ku matula. 13 Ndakatola Shelemiya we mpirisiti na Zadoki we nkwalili na Pedaya we Nlevi ababiga kuti babe batjengeti be matula, ndakadwapo nditola Hanani nkololo wa Zakhuri, Zakhuri ali nkololo wa Mataniya kuti abe mbatshi wabo. Ndakatola balume ibaba ngobe bakabe bali balume banogalikabgwe kwazo, ndizo nshingo wabo wakabe uli kukoba zwimu matula. 14 Ndzimu wangu, mundikumbule ngekwa ikoku kwandakathama, ndomukumbila kuti musifupatile zwandakathama nge kugalabgwe ndithamila ng'umba yenyu, Ndzimu wangu ne nge mishingo inobhatigwa muili.
15 Kwakati mu mazhuba iyawo abona bathu be Juda beswina nkumbi nge zhuba le Sabata kakale bezhisa mathunde ne zhambi ne phaya ne zwimwe zwinjinji zwakasengwa nge madonki. Bakabe bezhisa zose izwezwi ku Jerusalema nge zhuba le Sabata, ndizo abatjemelela kutengesa mu zhuba ilelo. 16 Bamwe bathu be nzi we Tire bakabe begala mu Jerusalema bakabe bezhisa hwobe ne zwimwe zwithu zwakasiyana siyana ku Jerusalema, bezwitengesela bathu be Juda nge zhuba le Sabata. 17 Ngono ndakatukanya batungamili be Juda abadwa nditi, “Bubi gweni gungapa ngapa gwa munothama, mu temapadza zhuba le Sabata kene? 18 Kuti Ndzimu akowozhisa mang'oni iyawa mangapa mutili ne mu nzi nkulu, bobatategulu bedu abazobe bathama beijali kene? Ngono ngwenu mowandisa bushongola mu Baiziraela ngo temapadza zhuba le Sabata kene?” 19 Kwakati kutewusila mu madekwana adusa ndaulo kuti mikoba ye Jerusalema izhaligwe kusathu kukabe zhuba le Sabata, ngekuti kakale mikoba isizhugwe kuswikilila zhuba le Sabata lapinda. Ndakabiga balume bangu ku mikoba kuti kusibe mitolo inongina kene inozhisiwa nge zhuba le Sabata. 20 Kwakabe tjibaka nge tjibaka batengesi be thundu bakabe belala kuzhe kwe Jerusalema. 21 Koga ndakabatjemela abadwa nditi, “Ini muizela pa makuma kene? Ha muthama muijali ndowomukubadza.” Kudwa tjose mu zhuba ilelo abazotjazha mu zhuba le Sabata. 22 Kudwapo ndakadwa Balevi kuti bazwitjenapadze, babe beyenda banolingilila ku mikoba kuti ndizo zhuba le Sabata ligale lakatjenapala. Mundikumbule ngekwa ikoku kakale Ndzimu wangu, mube nge ludo gwenyu gusingazunguzike.
23 Mu mazhuba iyawo ndakawana kakale balume be Juda bakabe bakalobola bakadzi Baashidodi ne Amoni ne Moabu. 24 Gwamu le bana babo bakabe belebeleka Tjiashidodi kene ndimi ye ludzi gupoga koga basingatubule kulebeleka lulimi gwe Tjijuta. 25 Ndakabatuka, abalonga bhiso, bamwe balume ibo abaloba, asimula mavudzi abo, abatunisa mu zina le Ndzimu kuti abatjowopapha belobodza bakololokadzi babo ku bathu be bataya kene kuli kulobolela bakololo babo kene ibo bakalobola bakadzi be bataya. 26 Ate ili iyo ndobolo yakajali yakathama kuti Solomoni mambo we Iziraela atjinye kene? Mu zwitjaba zwinjinji kwakabe kusina mambo unonga iye. Wakabe ediwa nge Ndzimu uwe, kakale Ndzimu ukabiga kuti abe mambo we Iziraela, ne kwakajalo wakakwebegwa ku jinyo nge bakadzi be bataya. 27 Apa takafanila hwa mbipo yose iyeyi yamunothama kene, mutjinyila Ndzimu wedu ngolobola bakadzi mu bataya kene?
28 Mmwe we bakololo ba Jehoyada we nkololo wa Eliyashibi ntungamili we bapirisiti wakabe ali nkwasha wa Sanibalati we N'hori ngono ndakantata. 29 Ndzimu wangu, kumbulani koga kuti bakatemapadza tjini mishingo ye bupirisiti ne tjidumano tje bupirisiti ne Balevi. 30 Ndizo ndakatjenapadza bapirisiti ne Balevi mu zwithu zose zwe Bezwitjaba ngono abapa mishingo yabo yakabalingisana. 31 Ndakalulwamisila kuzhisiwa kwe hwuni dzinobesiwa akupisiwa zwibhayilo kuti dzizhisiwe nge tjibaka tjakafanila ne nge mitjelo yekutanga. Ndizo Ndzimu wangu ibeni nge lubu mu ndikumbule.
Separation from Foreigners
1 When the Law of Moses was being read aloud to the people, they came to the passage that said that no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to be permitted to join God's people. 2 This was because the people of Ammon and Moab did not give food and water to the Israelites on their way out of Egypt. Instead, they paid money to Balaam to curse Israel, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 When the people of Israel heard this law read, they excluded all foreigners from the community.
Nehemiah's Reforms
4 The priest Eliashib, who was in charge of the Temple storerooms, had for a long time been on good terms with Tobiah. 5 He allowed Tobiah to use a large room that was intended only for storing offerings of grain and incense, the equipment used in the Temple, the offerings for the priests, and the tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil given to the Levites, to the Temple musicians, and to the Temple guards. 6 While this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes was king of Babylon I had gone back to report to him. After some time I received his permission 7 and returned to Jerusalem. There I was shocked to find that Eliashib had allowed Tobiah to use a room in the Temple. 8 I was furious and threw out all of Tobiah's belongings. 9 I gave orders for the rooms to be ritually purified and for the Temple equipment, grain offerings, and incense to be put back.
10 I also learned that the Temple musicians and other Levites had left Jerusalem and gone back to their farms, because the people had not been giving them enough to live on. 11 I reprimanded the officials for letting the Temple be neglected. And I brought the Levites and musicians back to the Temple and put them to work again. 12 Then all the people of Israel again started bringing to the Temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil. 13 I put the following men in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, a priest; Zadok, a scholar of the Law; and Pedaiah, a Levite. Hanan, the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, was to be their assistant. I knew I could trust these men to be honest in distributing the supplies to the other workers.
14 Remember, my God, all these things that I have done for your Temple and its worship.
15 At that time I saw people in Judah pressing juice from grapes on the Sabbath. Others were loading grain, wine, grapes, figs, and other things on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem; I warned them not to sell anything on the Sabbath. 16 Some people from the city of Tyre were living in Jerusalem, and they brought fish and all kinds of goods into the city to sell to our people on the Sabbath. 17 I reprimanded the Jewish leaders and told them, “Look at the evil you're doing! You're making the Sabbath unholy. 18 This is exactly why God punished your ancestors when he brought destruction on this city. And yet you insist on bringing more of God's anger down on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 So I gave orders for the city gates to be shut at the beginning of every Sabbath, as soon as evening began to fall, and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my men at the gates to make sure that nothing was brought into the city on the Sabbath. 20 Once or twice merchants who sold all kinds of goods spent Friday night outside the city walls. 21 I warned them, “It's no use waiting out there for morning to come. If you try this again, I'll use force on you.” From then on they did not come back on the Sabbath. 22 I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and guard the gates to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy.
Remember me, O God, for this also, and spare me because of your great love.
23 At that time I also discovered that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or some other language and didn't know how to speak our language. 25 I reprimanded the men, called down curses on them, beat them, and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath in God's name that never again would they or their children intermarry with foreigners. 26 I told them, “It was foreign women that made King Solomon sin. Here was a man who was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him and made him king over all of Israel, and yet he fell into this sin. 27 Are we then to follow your example and disobey our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 Joiada was the son of Eliashib the High Priest, but one of Joiada's sons married the daughter of Sanballat, from the town of Beth Horon, so I made Joiada leave Jerusalem.
29 Remember, God, how those people defiled both the office of priest and the covenant you made with the priests and the Levites.
30 I purified the people from everything foreign; I prepared regulations for the priests and the Levites so that all of them would know their duties; 31 I arranged for the wood used for burning the offerings to be brought at the proper times, and for the people to bring their offerings of the first grain and the first fruits that ripened.
Remember all this, O God, and give me credit for it.