Zechariah 7
1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
Awo olwatuuka mu mwaka ogwokuna ogw’obufuzi bwa kabaka Daliyo, ekigambo kya Mukama ne kijjira Zekkaliya, ku lunaku olwokuna olw’omwezi ogw’omwenda oguyitibwa Kisuleevu.
2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD
Abayudaaya mu Beseri baali batumye Salezeeri omukungu wa kabaka ne Legemumereki n’abantu baabwe mu Yerusaalemi okwogerako ne bakabona babegayiririre eri Mukama,
3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
n’okusaba bakabona b’omu nnyumba ya Mukama ow’Eggye ne bannabbi nti, “Nkaabe era nsiibe mu mwezi ogwokutaano nga bwe mbadde nkola okumala emyaka gino gyonna?”
4 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,
Awo ekigambo kya Mukama ow’Eggye ne kinzijira nga kigamba nti,
5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
“Gamba abantu bonna abali mu nsi, ne bakabona nti, ‘Bwe mwasiiba ne mukungubaga mu mwezi ogwokutaano ne mu gw’omusanvu mu myaka gino ensanvu, mwali musiibira nze?
6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?
Era bwe mulya ne munywa, muba temulya ku lwammwe era n’okunywa ku lwammwe?
7 Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Bino si bye bigambo Mukama bye yalangirira mu bannabbi ab’edda, Yerusaalemi bwe kyali kikyalimu abantu era nga kikyakulaakulana, nga n’ebibuga byakyo bikyetoolodde, nga ne mu bukiikaddyo ne mu bitundu eby’ensenyi mukyalimu abantu?’”
8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
Ekigambo kya Mukama ne kijjira Zekkaliya nate nti,
9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
“Bw’ati bw’ayogera Mukama ow’Eggye nti, ‘Musalenga emisango egy’ensonga, mukwatirweganenga ekisa n’okusaasiragananga buli muntu eri muganda we.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
Temutulugunyanga bannamwandu, n’abatalina bakitaabwe, n’abatambuze wadde abaavu, era tewateekwa kubaawo muntu n’omu ku mmwe alowooza mu mutima gwe okukola obulabe ku muganda we!’
11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
“Naye baagaana okuwuliriza ne bakakanyaza emitima gyabwe ne baziba n’amatu gaabwe baleme okuwulira.
12 They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.
Ne bakakanyaza emitima gyabwe ng’ejjinja, ne batawuliriza mateeka wadde ebigambo Mukama ow’Eggye bye yaweereza n’Omwoyo we mu mukono gwa bannabbi ab’edda. Mukama ow’Eggye kyeyava abanyiigira ennyo.
13 And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
“‘Bwe nabakoowoola ne batafaayo, nange ne ŋŋaana okufaayo nga bankowodde,’ bw’ayogera Mukama ow’Eggye.
14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”
Era nabasaasaanya n’omuyaga ogukunta mu mawanga ge baali batamanyi. Ensi gye baaleka n’ebeera matongo nga tewali agibeeramu, ensi ennungi esanyusa, kyeyava efuuka eddungu.”
