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.
Mwaka wa minne wa utawala mfalme Dario, siku ya nne ya mwezi wa Kisleu(ambao ni mwezi wa tisa), neno la Yahwe lilimjia Zekaria kusema.
2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD
Watu wa Betheli wamemtuma Shareza, Regemu Meleki na watu wao kuomba mbele ya uso wa Yahwe.
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?”
Wakaongea na makuhani waliokuwa katika nyumba ya Yahwe wa majeshi na kwa manabii; wakasema, “Je niomboleze katika mwezi wa tano kwa njia ya kufunga, kama nilivyofanya miaka mingi hii?”
4 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,
Ndipo neno la Yahwe wa majeshi liliponijia kusema,
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?
“Ongea na watu wote wa nchi na makuhani uwaambie, “Mlipofunga na kuomboleza katika mwezi wa tano na wa saba katika hii miaka sabini, je kweli mlifunga kwa ajili yangu?
6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?
Na mlipokula na kunywa, hamkula na kunywa kwa ajili yenu wenyewe?
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?’”
Je hayo siyo maneno aliyosema Yahwe kwa vinywa vya manabii wa zamani, mlipokuwa bado mnaishi Yerusalemu na miji ya kandokando yenye mafanikio na iliyokaa Negebu, na upande wa magharibi chini ya vilima?”
8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
Neno la Yahwe likamjia Zekaria kusema,
9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
“Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi, 'Hukumuni kwa haki, uaminifu wa agano, na rehema. Kila mtu na amtendee hivi ndugu yake.
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.’
Juu ya mjane na yatima, mgeni, na masikini - usiwanyanyase, na asiwepo miongoni mwenu anayepanga madhara yoyote dhidi ya mwingine mioyoni mwenu.
11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
Lakini waliyashupaza mabega yao na hawakujari. Waliziba masikio yao ili wasisikie.
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.
Waliifanya mioyo yao kuwa migumu kama mwamba ili wasiisikie sheria au neno la Yahwe wa majeshi. Alipeleka ujumbe kwa watu nyakati za zamani kwa Roho wake, kwa vinywa vya manabii. Lakini watu hawakusikia, hivyo Yahwe wa majeshi aliwakasirikia sana.
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.
Hata ikawa alipoita hawakusikia. Vilevile,” asema Yahwe wa majeshi, “wataniita, lakini sitasikiliza.
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.”
Kwa maana nitawatawanya kwa upepo wa kisurisuri katika mataifa yote ambayo hawajawai kuyaona, na baada yao nchi itakuwa wazi. Kwa kuwa hakuna hata mmoja atakayepita au kukaa katika hiyo nchi kwa kuwa wameigeuza nchi yao yenye kupendeza kuwa isiyofaa.
