¹Da det nu kom Sanballat, Araberen Gesjem og vore andre Fjender for Øre, at jeg havde bygget Muren, og at der ikke var flere Huller i den - dog havde jeg på den Tid ikke sat Fløje i Portene -

¹And it cometh to pass, when it hath been heard by Sanballat, and Tobiah, and by Geshem the Arabian, and by the rest of our enemies, that I have builded the wall, and there hath not been left in it a breach, (also, till that time the doors I had not set up in the gates,)

²sendte Sanballat og Gesjem Bud og opfordrede mig til en Sammenkomst i Kefirim i Onodalen. Men de havde ondt i Sinde imod mig.

²that Sanballat sendeth, also Geshem, unto me, saying, `Come and we meet together in the villages, in the valley of Ono;` and they are thinking to do to me evil.

³Derfor sendte jeg Bud til dem og lod sige: "Jeg har et stort Arbejde for og kan derfor ikke komme derned; hvorfor skulde Arbejdet standse? Og det vilde ske, hvis jeg lod det ligge for at komme ned til eder.

³And I send unto them messengers, saying, `A great work I am doing, and I am not able to come down; why doth the work cease when I let it alone, and have come down unto you?`

⁴Fire Gange sendte de mig samme Bud, og hver Gang gav jeg dem samme Svar.

⁴and they send unto me, according to this word, four times, and I return them [word] according to this word.

⁵Da sendte Sanballat for femte Gang sin Tjener til mig med samme Bud, og han havde et åbent Brev med,

⁵And Sanballat sendeth unto me, according to this word, a fifth time, his servant, and an open letter in his hand;

⁶i hvilket der stod: Det hedder sig blandt Folkene, og Gasjmut bekræfter det, at du og Jøderne pønser på Oprør; derfor er det, du bygger Muren, og at du vil være deres Konge.

⁶it is written in it, `Among the nations it hath been heard, and Gashmu is saying: Thou and the Jews are thinking to rebel, therefore thou art building the wall, and thou hast been to them for a king — according to these words!

⁷Og du skal endog have fået Profeter til i Jerusalem at udråbe dig til Konge i Juda. Dette Rygte vil nu komme Kongen for Øre; kom derfor og lad os tales ved!

⁷And also, prophets thou hast appointed to call for thee in Jerusalem, saying, A king [is] in Judah, and now it is heard by the king according to these words; and now come, and we take counsel together.`

⁸Men jeg sendte ham det Bud: Slige Ting, som du omtaler, er slet ikke sket; det er dit eget Påfund!

⁸And I send unto him, saying, `It hath not been according to these words that thou art saying, for from thine own heart thou art devising them;`

⁹Thi de havde alle til Hensigt at indjage os Skræk, idet de tænkte, at vi skulde lade Hænderne synke, så Arbejdet ikke blev til noget. Men styrk du nu mine Hænder!

⁹for all of them are making us afraid, saying, `Their hands are too feeble for the work, and it is not done;` and now, strengthen Thou my hands.

¹⁰Og da jeg gik ind i Sjemajas, Mehetab'els Søn Delajas Søns, Hus, som ved den Tid måtte holde sig inde, sagde han: Lad os tales ved i Guds Hus, i Helligdommens Indre, og stænge Dørene, thi der kommer nogle Folk, som vil dræbe dig; de kommer i Nat for at dræbe dig!"

¹⁰And I have entered the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabeel — and he is restrained — and he saith, `Let us meet at the house of God, at the inside of the temple, and we shut the doors of the temple, for they are coming in to slay thee — yea, by night they are coming in to slay thee.`

¹¹Men jeg svarede: Skulde en Mand som jeg flygte? Og hvorledes skulde en Mand som jeg kunne betræde Helligdommen og blive i Live? Jeg går ikke derind!

¹¹And I say, `A man such as I — doth he flee? and who as I, that doth go in unto the temple, and live? — I do not go in.`

¹²Thi jeg skønnede, at det ikke var Gud, som havde sendt ham, men at han var kommet med det Udsagn om mig, fordi Tobija og Sanballat havde lejet ham dertil,

¹²And I discern, and lo, God hath not sent him, for in the prophecy he hath spoken unto me both Tobiah and Sanballat hired him,

¹³for at jeg skulde blive bange og forsynde mig ved slig Adfærd og de få Anledning til ilde Omtale, så de kunde bagvaske mig.

¹³so that he [is] an hireling, that I may fear and do so, and I had sinned, and it had been to them for an evil name that they may reproach me.

¹⁴Kom Tobija og Sanballat i Hu, min Gud, efter deres Gerninger, ligeledes Profetinden Noadja og de andre Profeter, der vilde gøre mig bange!

¹⁴Be mindful, O my God, of Tobiah, and of Sanballat, according to these his works, and also, of Noadiah the prophetess, and of the rest of the prophets who have been making me afraid.

¹⁵Således blev Muren færdig den fem og tyvende Dag i Elul Måned efter to og halvtredsindstyve Dages Forløb.

¹⁵And the wall is completed in the twenty and fifth of Elul, on the fifty and second day;

¹⁶Og da alle vore Fjender hørte det, blev alle Hedningerne rundt om os bange og såre nedslåede, idet de skønnede, at dette Værk var udført med vor Guds Hjælp.

¹⁶and it cometh to pass, when all our enemies have heard, and all the nations who are round about us see, that they fall greatly in their own eyes, and know that by our God hath this work been done.

¹⁷Men der gik også i de Dage en Mængde Breve frem og tilbage mellem Tobija og de store i Juda;

¹⁷Also, in those days the freemen of Judah are multiplying their letters going unto Tobiah, and those of Tobiah are coming in unto them;

¹⁸thi mange i Juda stod i Edsforbund med ham, da han var Svigersøn af Sjekanja, Aras Søn, og hans Søn Johanan var gift med en Datter af Mesjullam, Berekjas Søn.

¹⁸for many in Judah are sworn to him, for he [is] son-in-law to Shechaniah son of Arah, and Jehohanan his son hath taken the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah;

¹⁹Også plejede de både at tale godt om ham til mig og at forebringe ham mine Ord; Tobija sendte også Breve for at gøre mig bange.

¹⁹also, his good deeds they have been saying before me, and my words they have been taking out to him; letters hath Tobiah sent to make me afraid.