¹Zvino shure kwaizvozvo, Aritashasita mambo wePerisia achibata ushe, Ezira mwanakomana waSeraya, mwanakomana waAzaria, mwanakomana waHirikia,

¹Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

²mwanakomana waSharumi, mwanakomana waZadhoki, mwanakomana waAhitubhi,

²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

³mwanakomana waAmaria, mwanakomana waAzaria, mwanakomana waMerayoti,

³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

⁴mwanakomana waZerahia, mwanakomana waUzi, mwanakomana waBhuki,

⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

⁵mwanakomana waAbhishua, mwanakomana waPinehasi, mwanakomana waEreazari, mwanakomana waAroni, mupristi mukuru

⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest;

⁶uyu Ezira akaenda achibva Bhabhironi; iye akanga ari munyori akangwara pamurayiro waMozisi, akanga wapiwa naJehovha Mwari walsiraeri; mambo akamupa zvose zvaakakumbira, nokuda koruoko rwaJehovha rwakanga ruri pamusoro pake.

⁶this Ezra went up from Babylon: and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Yahweh his God on him.

⁷Navamwe vavana vaIsiraeri, navapristi, navaRevhi, navaimbi, navarindi vemikova, navaNetinimi, vakaenda Jerusaremu negore rechinomwe ramambo Aritashasita.

⁷There went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

⁸Akasvika Jerusaremu nomwedzi wechishanu pagore rechinomwe ramambo.

⁸He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

⁹nekuti akatanga kubva Bhabhironi nezuva rokutanga romwedzi wokutanga, akasvika Jerusaremu nezuva rokutanga romwedzi wechishanu, nokuda koruoko rwakanaka rwaMwari wake rwakanga ruri pamusoro pake.

⁹For on the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him.

¹⁰nekuti Ezira akanga ashingaira nomoyo wake wose kutsvaka murayiro waJehovha, nokuuita, nokudzidzisa pakati paIsiraeri zvaakatema nezvaakatonga.

¹⁰For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

¹¹Zvino ndiwo mashoko etsamba iyo mambo Aritashasita yaakapa Ezira mupristi nomunyori iye munyori wamashoko emirairo yaJehovha nezvaakatemera Isiraeri,

¹¹Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Yahweh, and of his statutes to Israel:

¹²Aritashasita mambo wamadzimambo, kuna Ezira mupristi, munyori womurayiro waMwari wokudenga, rugare rwakakwana, nenguva yakadai.

¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.

¹³Ini ndinotema chirevo, kuti vanhu vose vaIsiraeri, navapristi vavo, navaRevhi, vari paushe hwangu, vanoda nokuda kwazvo kuenda Jerusaremu, ngavaende havo newe.

¹³I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you.

¹⁴Zvawatumwa namambo namakurukota ake manomwe kundobvunzisisa pamusoro paJudha neJerusaremu, sezvakarehwa nomurayiro waMwari wako uri muruoko rwako.

¹⁴Because you are sent of the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand,

¹⁵Nokuenda nesirivha nendarama yakapiwa namambo namakurukota ake nokuda kwavo Mwari waIsiraeri, iye agere Jerusaremu,

¹⁵and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,

¹⁶nesirivha nendarama yose yaungawana parutivi rwenyika yose yeBhabhironi, pamwechete nezvipo zvavanhu zvavachapa nokuda kwavo, nezvavapristi, zvavachapa imba yaMwari wavo iri paJerusaremu nomoyo yavo;

¹⁶and all the silver and gold that you shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;

¹⁷zvino unofanira kukurumidza kutenga nemari iyo nzombe, namakondobwe, namakwayana, pamwechete nezvipiriso zvazvo zvoupfu, nezvinodururwa, ugozviisa paaritari paimba yaMwari wenyu iri Jerusaremu.

¹⁷therefore you shall with all diligence buy with this money bulls, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

¹⁸Kana iri sirivha nendarama yakasara, itai nazvo sezvamunofunga, iwe nehama dzako, sezvinodikamwa naMwari wenyu.

¹⁸Whatever shall seem good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do that after the will of your God.

¹⁹Nemidziyo yaunopiwa kundobata nayo paimba yaMwari wako, uiise pamberi paMwari weJerusaremu.

¹⁹The vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem.

²⁰Nezvimwe zvinhu zvipi nezvipi zvinodikamwa paimba yaMwari wako, zvaunofanira kuripa, uzviripe uchitora paimba yefuma yamambo.

²⁰Whatever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house.

²¹Ini, iyeni mambo Aritashasita, ndinoraira vachengeti vose vefuma mhiri korwizi, ndichiti, Zvose Ezira mupristi, munyori womurayiro waMwari wokudenga, zvaanokumbira kwamuri, ngazviitwe nokukurumidza,

²¹I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence,

²²kusvikira pamatarenda* esirivha ane zana, nezviyero zvine zana zvezviyo, namabhati ewaini ane zana, namabhati amafuta ane zana, nomunyu usingaverengwi.

²²to one hundred talents of silver, and to one hundred measures of wheat, and to one hundred baths of wine, and to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.

²³Zvose zvinorairwa naMwari wokudenga, ngazviitirwe zvakanaka imba yaMwari wokudenga; nekuti ushe hwamambo nohwavanakomana vake huchatsamwirweiko?

²³Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

²⁴Tinokuzivisaiwo, kuti kana vari vapristi vose, navaRevhi, navaimbi, navarindi vemikova, navaNetinimi, navaranda veimba iyi yaMwari, havangaripiswi mutero, kana zvipo, kana muripo wenzira.

²⁴Also we inform you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, on them.

²⁵Zvino iwe Ezira, nenjere dzaMwari wako, dzawakapiwa iwe, chigadza vatambi vemhosva, navatongi, vangatongera vanhu vose vari mhiri korwizi mhaka dzavo, vave vanhu vanoziva mirairo yaMwari wako, ugodzidzisa mumwe nomumwe asingaizivi.

²⁵You, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God who is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach him who doesn’t know them.

²⁶Ani naani, asingadi kuita murayiro waMwari wako, nomurayiro wamambo, ngaakurumidze kupiwa mhaka, kana yorufu, kana yokudzingwa kana yokutorerwa nhumbi dzake, kana yokusungwa mutirongo.

²⁶Whoever will not do the law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him with all diligence, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

²⁷Jehovha Mwari wamadzibaba edu ngaakudzwe, iye akaisa chinhu chakadai mumoyo wamambo, kuti anatse imba yaJehovha iri Jerusaremu;

²⁷Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem;

²⁸iye akandinzwisa tsitsi pamberi pamambo, napamberi pamakurukota ake, napamberi pamachinda ose ane simba amambo. Ini ndikasimbiswa nekuti ruoko rwaJehovha Mwari wangu rwakanga ruri pamusoro pangu, ndikakoka varume vakuru pakati paIsiraeri, kuti vaende neni.

²⁸and has extended loving kindness to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. I was strengthened according to the hand of Yahweh my God on me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.