Nehemiah 2

¹ One day four months later, when Emperor Artaxerxes dey chop, I take wine go meet him. He never see me dey look sad before,

² So he ask me say, “Why you dey look so sad? You no sick, so e mean say you no happy.” The thing surprise me

³ and I answer say, “Your Majesty, you go live forever! How I no go dey look sad when the city where dem bury my ancestors dey destroy and fire don destroy the gate?”

⁴ The emperor ask say, “Wetin be the thing wey you want?” I con pray to the God of Heaven,

⁵ And I tell the emperor say, “If Your Majesty no go mind and if you go grant my request, allow me to go to the land of Judah, to the city where dem bury my ancestors, so that I fit rebuild the city.”

⁶ The emperor, with the empress wey dey siddon for him side, con approve my request. He ask me say how long I go stay and when I go return, and I tell him.

⁷ I con ask him make he do me the favor to give me letter wey I go give to the governors of west Euphrates Province, wey go tell them say make dem allow me travel to Judah.

⁸ I also ask for letter to Asaph, wey be the keeper of the royal forests, to tell him to supply me timber wey I need for the gates of the tower wey guard the Temple, for the city walls, and for the house wey I go stay. The emperor give me all I ask for, because God dey with me.

⁹ The emperor con send some army officers and troop of horsemen with me, and I begin dey travel go West Euphrates. Na for there I con give emperor letter to the governors.

¹⁰ But Sanballat, wey come from Beth Horon town, and Tobiah, wey be official for province of Ammon, hear say person don come work for the good of the people of Israel, and dem no dey happy about am.

¹¹ I go to Jerusalem, and for three days

¹² I no tell anybody wetin God don move me to do for Jerusalem. Naso I stand up in the middle of the night and I go out, I take some of those wey dey with me join body. Na the donkey wey I ride on top be the only animal wey we take.

¹³ Na still night as I leave the city through the Valley Gate for west and go south pass Dragon Fountain to Rubbish Gate. As I dey pass, I dey check the broken walls of the city and the gate wey fire don destroy.

¹⁴ Then for the east side of the city I go north to the Fountain Gate and to the King Pool. The donkey wey I dey ride no fit find any way through the bricks wey don break,

¹⁵ So I con go to the valley of the Kidron and continue dey ride, dey look at the wall. Then I return to the way wey I follow come and I go back to the city through the Valley Gate.

¹⁶ None of the local official know where I don go or wetin I don dey do. So far say I never tell any of my fellow-Jews anything - the priests, the leaders, the officials, or anybody else wey go dey take part in the work.

¹⁷ But now I tell them say, “Make una see the trouble wey we dey inside because Jerusalem don destroy and the gates don destroy! Make we rebuild the city walls and put end to our shame.”

¹⁸ And I tell them how God don dey with me and help me, and wetin the emperor don say to me. Dem answer say, “Make we start to dey rebuild!” And dem ready to start the work.

¹⁹ When Sanballat, Tobiah, and one Arab wey dem dey call Geshem hear wetin we dey plan to do, dem laugh at us and dem say, “Wetin una think say una dey do? Shey una go rebel against the emperor?”

²⁰ I answer say, “The God of Heaven go give us success. Na him servant we be, and we go start to dey build. But una no get any right to any property for Jerusalem, and una no get any share for hin traditions.”