Nehemías 2
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Nehemías enviado a Jerusalén
2 Aconteció que en el mes de Nisán, en el año veinte(A) del rey Artajerjes(B), estando ya el vino delante de él, tomé el vino y se lo di al rey(C). Yo nunca había estado triste en su presencia. 2 Así que el rey me preguntó: «¿Por qué está triste tu rostro? Tú no estás enfermo; eso no es más que tristeza de corazón(D)». Entonces tuve mucho temor, 3 y le dije al rey: «Viva para siempre el rey(E). ¿Cómo no ha de estar triste mi rostro cuando la ciudad, lugar de los sepulcros de mis padres, está desolada y sus puertas han sido consumidas por el fuego(F)?».
4 Entonces el rey me dijo: «¿Qué es lo que pides?». Así que oré al Dios del cielo(G), 5 y respondí al rey: «Si le place al rey, y si su siervo ha hallado gracia delante de usted, envíeme a Judá, a la ciudad de los sepulcros de mis padres, para que yo la reedifique». 6 Entonces el rey me dijo, estando la reina sentada junto a él: «¿Cuánto durará tu viaje, y cuándo volverás?». Y le agradó al rey enviarme, y yo le di un plazo fijo(H). 7 Y le dije al rey: «Si le agrada al rey, que se me den cartas para los gobernadores de las provincias más allá del Río[a](I), para que me dejen pasar hasta que llegue a Judá, 8 y una carta para Asaf, guarda del bosque del rey(J), a fin de que me dé madera para hacer las vigas de las puertas de la fortaleza(K) que está junto al templo[b], para la muralla de la ciudad y para la casa a la cual iré». Y el rey me lo concedió, porque la mano bondadosa de mi Dios estaba sobre mí(L).
9 Fui entonces a los gobernadores de más allá del Río(M) y les entregué las cartas del rey. El rey también había enviado conmigo oficiales del ejército y hombres de a caballo(N). 10 Cuando se enteraron Sanbalat el horonita y Tobías el oficial[c] amonita(O), les disgustó mucho que alguien hubiera venido a procurar el bienestar de los israelitas.
11 Llegué a Jerusalén y después de estar allí tres días(P), 12 me levanté de noche, yo y unos pocos hombres conmigo, pero no informé a nadie lo que mi Dios había puesto en mi corazón que hiciera por Jerusalén. No llevaba conmigo ningún animal excepto el animal sobre el cual yo iba montado. 13 Salí de noche por la puerta del Valle(Q) hacia la fuente del Dragón y hacia la puerta del Muladar, inspeccionando las murallas de Jerusalén que estaban derribadas y sus puertas que estaban consumidas por el fuego(R). 14 Pasé luego hacia la puerta de la Fuente(S) y hacia el Estanque del Rey(T), pero no había lugar para que pasara mi cabalgadura. 15 Así que subí de noche por el torrente(U) e inspeccioné la muralla. Entonces entré de nuevo por la puerta del Valle y regresé. 16 Los oficiales no sabían adónde yo había ido ni qué había hecho. Tampoco se lo había hecho saber todavía a los judíos, ni a los sacerdotes, ni a los nobles, ni a los oficiales, ni a los demás que hacían la obra.
17 Entonces les dije: «Ustedes ven la mala situación en que estamos, que Jerusalén está desolada y sus puertas quemadas a fuego(V). Vengan, reedifiquemos la muralla de Jerusalén para que no seamos más motivo de burla». 18 Les conté cómo la mano de mi Dios había sido bondadosa conmigo, y también las palabras que el rey me había dicho. Entonces dijeron: «Levantémonos y edifiquemos». Y esforzaron sus manos(W) en la buena obra. 19 Pero cuando se enteraron Sanbalat el horonita, Tobías el oficial amonita y Gesem el árabe(X), se burlaron de nosotros(Y), nos despreciaron y dijeron: «¿Qué es esto que están haciendo? ¿Se están rebelando contra el rey(Z)?». 20 Yo les respondí: «El Dios del cielo(AA) nos dará éxito. Por tanto, nosotros Sus siervos nos levantaremos y edificaremos, pero ustedes no tienen parte ni derecho(AB) ni memorial en Jerusalén».
Nehemiah 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
Appointment by the King. 1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, since the wine was my responsibility, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Inasmuch as I had never before showed any sign of sadness in his presence,[a] 2 the king asked me: “Why do you look so depressed? You clearly are not ill. This is the result of your sadness of heart.”
Despite the fact that I was greatly fearful, 3 I said to the king: “May your majesty live forever! How can I possibly fail to be depressed when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 The king then said to me: “What do you wish to request of me?”
Having first prayed to the God of heaven,[b] 5 I said to the king: “If your majesty approves and your servant has found favor with you, I beg you to send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.” 6 Then the king—with the queen sitting beside him—said to me: “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” Once I had given the king a specific date that was acceptable to him, he approved my request.
7 Then I said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of West-of-Euphrates with orders to grant me safe passage until I arrive in Judah. 8 I also request that you give me a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, directing that he give me timber for the gates of the citadel adjoining the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the residence I will occupy.” The king granted what I requested, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me.
9 When I came to the governors of West-of-Euphrates, I presented the king’s letters to them. The king had also sent an escort of army officers and cavalry to accompany me. 10 However, when Sanballat[c] the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the Israelites.
11 Nehemiah Inspects the Wall.[d]When I arrived in Jerusalem, I rested there for three days. 12 Then I set out by night with just a few other men. I revealed to no one what my God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem, and I took no animal with me other than the one I was riding.
13 I went forth by night through the Valley Gate toward the Dragon Spring as far as the Dung Gate, and I observed how the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins with its gates destroyed by fire. 14 I then passed over to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room there for the animal I was riding to continue.
15 Therefore, I went up by way of the valley in the dark, examining the wall until I once again reached the Valley Gate and re-entered the city. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing. I had not as yet disclosed anything to the Jews, neither to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the magistrates, nor to any of the other persons who were to be involved in the work.[e]
17 Rebuilding Jerusalem’s Walls. Then I said to them: “You now can realize the difficulty we face. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Therefore, we must rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be looked upon as a disgrace.” 18 Then I told them how God had been so extremely gracious to me, and I also revealed the encouragement that the king had given me. They replied: “Let us begin the rebuilding at once,” and they undertook their work vigorously.
19 However when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite slave, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they ridiculed and mocked us, saying: “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 In turn I gave them this answer: “The God of heaven will grant us success, and we his servants intend to start the rebuilding immediately. But as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 2:1 Sadness in his presence: it was not considered wise to appear depressed before the king—no one in mourning clothes could even be in his presence. The king’s questioning of Nehemiah about his appearance was a dangerous thing.
- Nehemiah 2:4 On many occasions in this short Book, we read that Nehemiah invoked God’s assistance before speaking or acting. This shows his trust in God that was the fruit of his ongoing intimate relationship with him.
- Nehemiah 2:10 Sanballat: the governor of Samaria, called the “Horonite” from the city of Horonaim in the land of Moab (see Isa 15:5). Tobiah was in all probability a member of a family (the Tobiads) who in the third century B.C. would flourish in the region of the Ammonites.
- Nehemiah 2:11 Poets who experienced the disaster have preserved for us their deeply felt and horrified memory of the mass of stones and ruins that made the site of Jerusalem such a sad place (Pss 74; 79; Lam 1; 2; 5).
- Nehemiah 2:16 Nehemiah shows great wisdom by inspecting the walls at night and not sharing his mission with anyone until he was prepared to take action. He realized that opening the idea to others would cause controversy among the Jews and lose time that could be used better in completion of the task of rebuilding.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation
