Nehemiah 5

1 [Later, ] many of the men and their wives protested loudly about what [some of] the [other] Jews were doing.

茲に民その妻とともにその兄弟なるユダヤ人にむかひて大に叫べり

2 Some/One of them said, “We have many children. So we need a lot of grain to be able to eat and continue to live.”

或人言ふ我儕および我らの男子女子は多し我ら穀物を得食ふて生ざるべからず

3 Others said, “The fields and vineyards and houses that we own, it has been necessary for us to (mortgage them/promise to give them to someone if we do not pay back to him the money he has loaned us) in order to get money to buy grain, during this (famine/time where there is not much food).”

或人は言ふ我らは我らの田畑葡萄園および家をも質となすなり旣に饑に迫れば我らに穀物を獲させよ

4 Others said, “We have [needed to] borrow money to pay the taxes that the king [commanded us to pay] on our fields and our vineyards.

或は言ふ我らは我らの田畝および葡萄園をもて金を貸て王の租税を納む

5 We are Jews just like [IDM] they are. Our children are ([just as good as/equal with)] their children. But we have needed to sell some of our children to become slaves [in order to pay what we owe]. We have already sold some of our daughters to become slaves. Our fields and vineyards have been taken away from us, so now we do not have [the money to pay what we owe, and we are forced to sell our children to get money to pay those debts].”

然ど我らの肉も我らの兄弟の肉と同じく我らの子女も彼らの子女と同じ視よ我らは男子女子を人に伏從はせて奴隸となす我らの女子の中すでに人に伏從せし者もあり如何とも爲ん方法なし其は我らの田畝および葡萄園は別の人の有となりたればなりと

6 I was very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.

我は彼らの叫および是等の言を聞て大に怒れり

7 So I thought about what I could do about it. I told the leaders and officials [who were responsible for this work], “You are charging interest to your own relatives [when they borrow money from you]!” Then I called together a large group of people,

是において我心に思ひ計り貴き人々および牧伯等を責てこれに言けるは汝らは各々その兄弟より利息を取るなりと而して我かれらの事につきて大會を開き

8 and I said to their [leaders], “Some of our Jewish relatives have been forced to sell themselves to become slaves of people who have come from other countries. As much as we have been able to, we have been buying them back [out of slavery]. But now you are forcing your own relatives to sell themselves to you, their fellow Jews, as slaves!” [When I said that to them, ] they were silent. There was nothing that they could say [because they knew that what I said was true].

彼らに言けるは我らは異邦人の手に賣れたる我らの兄弟ユダヤ人を我らの力にしたがひて贖へり然るにまた汝等は己の兄弟を賣んとするやいかで之をわれらの手に賣るべけんやと彼らは默して言なかりき

9 Then I said to them, “What you are doing is terrible [EUP]! You certainly ought to [RHQ] obey God and do what is right! If you did that, our enemies who do not revere Yahweh [would see that we are doing what is right and] would not ridicule us.

我また言けるは汝らの爲すところ善らず汝らは我らの敵たる異邦人の誹謗をおもひて我儕の神を畏れつつ事をなすべきに非ずや

10 My fellow Jews and I and my servants have lent money and grain to people [without charging interest]. So you all should stop charging interest on these loans.

我もわが兄弟および僕等も同じく金と穀物とを貸て利息を取ことをなす願くは我らこの利息を廢ん

11 Also, you must give back to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive tree orchards, and their houses that you have taken from them. You must also give back to them the interest that you charged them when they borrowed money, grain, wine, and [olive] oil from you, and you must do it today!”

請ふ汝ら今日にも彼らの田畝葡萄園橄欖園および家を彼らに還しまた彼らに貸あたへて金穀物および酒油などの百分の一を取ることを廢よと

12 The leaders replied, “We will do what you have said. We will return to them everything that we forced them to give to us, and we will not require that they give us anything more.” Then I summoned the priests, and I forced the leaders to vow in front of them that they would do what they had promised to do.

彼ら即ち言けるは我ら之を還すべし彼らに何をも要めざらん汝の言るごとく我ら然なすべしと是に於て我祭司を呼び彼らをして此言のごとく行なふといふ誓を立しめたり

13 I shook out the folds of my robe and said to them, “If you do not do what you have just now promised to do, I hope/desire that God will shake you like I am shaking my robe. He will take away your homes and everything else that you own.” They all replied, “Amen/May it be so!” And they praised Yahweh. Then they did what they had promised to do.

而して我わが胸懐を打拂ひて言ふ此言を行はざる者をば願くは神是のごとく凡て打拂ひてその家およびその業を離れさせたまへ即ちその人は斯打拂はれて空しくなれかしと時に會衆みなアーメンと言てヱホバを讃美せり而して民はこの言のごとくに行へり

14 I was appointed to be the governor of Judea in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was the king [of Persia]. For the next twelve years, until he had been ruling for almost 32 years, neither I nor my officials accepted [the money that we were allowed/entitled to receive to buy] food because of my being the governor.

且また我がユダの地の總督に任ぜられし時より即ちアルタシヤユタ王の二十年より三十二年まで十二年の間は我もわが兄弟も總督の受べき禄を食ざりき

15 The men who were governors before I became the governor had burdened the people by requiring them to pay a lot of taxes. They had forced each person to pay to them 40 silver coins every day, in addition to giving food and wine to them. Even their servants/officials oppressed the people. But I did not do that, because I revered God.

わが以前にありし舊の總督等は民に重荷を負せてパンと酒とを是より取り其外にまた銀四十シケルを取れり然のみならずその僕等も亦民を圧せり然ども我は神を畏るるに因て然せざりき

16 I also continued to work on the wall, and I did not take land from people [who were unable to pay back the money that they had borrowed from me]. All those who worked for me joined me to work on the wall.

我は反てこの石垣の工事に身を委ね我儕は何の田地をも買しこと無し我僕は皆かしこに集りて工事をなせり

17 Also, every day I was responsible to feed 150 Jewish officials, and also [official] visitors who came from nearby countries.

且また我席にはユダヤ人および牧伯等百五十人あり其外にまた我らの周圍の異邦人の中より我らに來れる者等もありき

18 Each day I [told my servants to] serve [us the meat from] one ox, six very good sheep, and chickens. And every ten days I gave them a large new supply of wine. But I knew that the people were burdened [by paying lots of taxes], so I did not accept [the money that I was entitled/allowed to receive to buy all this] food because of my being the governor.

是をもて一日に牛一匹肥たる羊六匹を備へ亦鶏をも許多備へ十日に一回種々の酒を多く備へたり是ありしかどもこの民の役おもきに因て我は總督の受くべき禄を要めざりき

19 My God, do not forget me, and reward me because of all that I have done for these people.

わが神よ我が此民のために爲る一切の事を憶ひ仁慈をもて我をあしらひ給へ