¹Now it happened, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though even to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates;)

¹Sanbalat, Tobia, Gesyem dan musuh-musuh kami yang lain mendengar bahwa kami selesai memperbaiki tembok, dan bahwa semua lubangnya sudah ditutup, meskipun pada waktu itu kami belum memasang daun-daun pintu pada pintu-pintu gerbang kota.

²that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to harm me.

²Maka Sanbalat dan Gesyem mengirim undangan kepadaku supaya datang mengadakan pertemuan dengan mereka di salah satu desa di Lembah Ono. Tetapi aku tahu bahwa mereka mau mencelakakan aku.

³I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I can’t come down. Why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?”

³Sebab itu kukirim jawaban ini kepada mereka, "Aku tak bisa datang karena sedang melakukan pekerjaan penting. Pekerjaan itu akan macet kalau kutinggalkan untuk bertemu dengan kalian."

⁴They sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them the same way.

⁴Sampai empat kali mereka mengirim undangan yang sama kepadaku, dan setiap kali pula kuberikan jawaban yang sama.

⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,

⁵Pada kali yang kelima seorang anak buah Sanbalat datang dan memberikan surat terbuka

⁶in which was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel. Because of that, you are building the wall. You would be their king, according to these words.

⁶yang isinya demikian: "Gesyem membenarkan adanya desas-desus di kalangan bangsa-bangsa di sekitar sini, yang mengatakan bahwa Saudara dan semua orang Yahudi merencanakan pemberontakan, dan itu sebabnya Saudara memperbaiki tembok kota. Ia mengatakan juga bahwa Saudara hendak mengangkat diri menjadi raja Yehuda,

⁷You have also appointed prophets to preach of you at Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.”

⁷dan telah menunjuk beberapa nabi untuk menobatkan Saudara di Yerusalem. Desas-desus itu pasti akan sampai kepada raja. Sebab itu, datanglah untuk merundingkan hal itu."

⁸Then I sent to him, saying, “There are no such things done as you say, but you imagine them out of your own heart.”

⁸Tetapi aku mengirimkan jawaban ini, "Semua yang Saudara katakan itu omong kosong dan isapan jempol Saudara sendiri."

⁹For they all would have made us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done. But now, strengthen my hands.”

⁹Mereka mencoba menakut-nakuti kami supaya kami menghentikan pekerjaan itu. Aku berdoa, "Ya Allah, kuatkanlah aku!"

¹⁰I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home; and he said, “Let us meet together in God’s house, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to kill you; yes, in the night will they come to kill you.”

¹⁰Sekitar waktu itu juga, aku pergi ke rumah Semaya anak Delaya dan cucu Mehetabeel, karena ia berhalangan datang kepadaku. Katanya kepadaku, "Mari kita berdua pergi bersembunyi di Rumah Tuhan. Kita kunci semua pintunya, sebab ada orang yang mau membunuh engkau. Barangkali malam ini engkau akan dibunuh."

¹¹I said, “Should such a man as I flee? Who is there that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”

¹¹Tetapi aku menjawab, "Aku ini bukan orang yang suka melarikan diri. Sebagai orang awam aku tak boleh memasuki Rumah Tuhan, nanti aku mati. Tidak, aku tidak mau!"

¹²I discerned, and behold, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

¹²Setelah kutimbang-timbang hal itu, sadarlah aku bahwa ajakan Semaya itu bukan dari Allah, melainkan dari Tobia dan Sanbalat. Mereka telah menyuap Semaya untuk menyampaikan nubuat itu kepadaku.

¹³He hired so that I would be afraid, do so, and sin, and that they might have material for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

¹³Maksud mereka ialah supaya aku takut dan menuruti saran mereka sehingga berbuat dosa. Dengan demikian mereka mendapat kesempatan menjelekkan namaku sehingga aku menjadi buah bibir orang.

¹⁴“Remember, my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.”

¹⁴Aku berdoa, "Ya Allah, ingatlah apa yang dilakukan oleh Tobia dan Sanbalat itu. Hukumlah mereka! Begitu juga nabiah yang bernama Noaja dan nabi-nabi lain yang mau menakut-nakuti aku."

¹⁵So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.

¹⁵Perbaikan tembok itu makan waktu 52 hari, dan selesai pada tanggal dua puluh lima bulan Elul.

¹⁶It happened, when all our enemies heard of it, that all the nations that were about us were afraid, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was worked of our God.

¹⁶Ketika musuh-musuh kami di antara bangsa-bangsa di sekitar situ mendengar hal itu, mereka takut kehilangan muka, sebab semua orang tahu bahwa pekerjaan itu dilakukan dengan pertolongan Allah.

¹⁷Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

¹⁷Sementara itu para pemimpin Yahudi masih juga mengadakan surat-menyurat dengan Tobia.

¹⁸For there were many in Judah sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as wife.

¹⁸Banyak orang Yahudi berteman dengan Tobia, karena ia menantu Sekhanya anak Arah. Lagipula Yohanan, anak Tobia, kawin dengan anak perempuan Mesulam anak Berekhya.

¹⁹Also they spoke of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.

¹⁹Meskipun Tobia terus-menerus menulis surat kepadaku untuk menakut-nakuti aku, namun para pemimpin Yahudi itu menyebut-nyebut di depanku segala kebaikan Tobia. Selain itu semua yang kukatakan, mereka laporkan kepadanya.