Jeremiah 5
1 Go quickly through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and get knowledge, and make a search in her wide places if there is a man, if there is one in her who is upright, who keeps faith; and she will have my forgiveness.
Hambani liye le lale ezitaladeni zeJerusalema, libone khathesi, lazi, lidinge ezindaweni zayo ezingamagceke, uba lingathola umuntu, uba ekhona owenza isahlulelo, odinga iqiniso; khona ngizayithethelela.
2 And though they say, By the living Lord; truly their oaths are false.
Loba-ke besithi: Kuphila kukaJehova; kanti bafunga amanga.
3 O Lord, do not your eyes see good faith? you have given them punishment, but they were not troubled; you have sent destruction on them, but they did not take your teaching to heart: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they would not come back.
Nkosi, amehlo akho kawakho eqinisweni yini? Ubatshayile, kodwa kabezwanga buhlungu; ubaqothule, kodwa bala ukwemukela ukulaywa. Benzile ubuso babo bube lukhuni kuledwala, bala ukuphenduka.
4 Then I said, But these are the poor: they are foolish, for they have no knowledge of the way of the Lord or of the behaviour desired by their God.
Mina ngasengisithi: Qiniso, laba ngabayanga, bayizithutha; ngoba kabayazi indlela yeNkosi, isahlulelo sikaNkulunkulu wabo.
5 I will go to the great men and have talk with them; for they have knowledge of the way of the Lord and of the behaviour desired by their God. But as for these, their one purpose is a broken yoke and burst bands.
Mina ngizakuya kwabakhulu, ngikhulume labo, ngoba bona bayayazi indlela yeNkosi, isahlulelo sikaNkulunkulu wabo; kodwa labo kanyekanye balephulile ijogwe, baqamula izibopho.
6 And so a lion from the woods will put them to death, a wolf of the waste land will make them waste, a leopard will keep watch on their towns, and everyone who goes out from them will be food for the beasts; because of the great number of their sins and the increase of their wrongdoing.
Ngakho-ke isilwane esiphuma ehlathini sizababulala, impisi yezinkangala ibachithe, ingwe ilinde imelene lemizi yabo; wonke ophuma kiyo uzadatshudatshulwa; ngoba iziphambeko zabo zinengi, ukuhlehlela nyovane kwabo kwandile.
7 How is it possible for you to have my forgiveness for this? your children have given me up, taking their oaths by those who are no gods: when I had given them food in full measure, they were false to their wives, taking their pleasure in the houses of loose women.
Ngingakuthethelela njani ngalokhu? Abantwana bakho bangidelile, bafunga ngabangeyisibo onkulunkulu. Sengibasuthisile, basebefeba, babuthana ngamaxuku endlini yezifebe.
8 They were full of desire, like horses after a meal of grain: everyone went after his neighbour's wife.
Babenjengamabhiza asuthayo ekuseni, bakhonya, omunye lomunye kumfazi kamakhelwane wakhe.
9 Am I not to give punishment for these things? says the Lord: will not my soul take payment from such a nation as this?
Kangiyikujezisa yini ngenxa yalezizinto? itsho iNkosi; kumbe umphefumulo wami kawuyikuphindisela yini esizweni esinjengalesi?
10 Go up against her vines and make waste; let the destruction be complete: take away her branches, for they are not the Lord's.
Yenyukelani emidulwini yayo, lichithe, kodwa lingenzi isiphetho esipheleleyo; susani ingatsha zayo, ngoba kazisizo zeNkosi.
11 For the people of Israel and the people of Judah have been very false to me, says the Lord.
Ngoba indlu kaIsrayeli lendlu kaJuda zenze ngenkohliso enkulu zimelene lami, itsho iNkosi.
12 They would have nothing to do with the Lord, saying, He will do nothing, and no evil will come to us; we will not see the sword or be short of food:
Bayiphikile iNkosi, bathi: Kayisiyo; njalo ububi kabuyikusehlela, futhi kasiyikubona inkemba loba indlala.
13 And the prophets will become wind, and the word is not in them; so it will be done to them.
Labaprofethi bazakuba ngumoya, lelizwi kalikho kubo; kuzakwenziwa njalo kibo!
14 For this reason the Lord, the God of armies, has said: Because you have said this, I will make my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and they will be burned up by it.
Ngalokho itsho njalo iNkosi uNkulunkulu wamabandla: Ngoba likhuluma lelilizwi, khangela, ngizakwenza amazwi ami emlonyeni wakho abe ngumlilo, lalababantu babe zinkuni, njalo uzabaqothula.
15 See, I will send you a nation from far away, O people of Israel, says the Lord; a strong nation and an old nation, a nation whose language is strange to you, so that you may not get the sense of their words.
Khangelani, ngizaletha phezu kwenu isizwe esivela khatshana, ndlu kaIsrayeli, itsho iNkosi; yisizwe esilamandla, yisizwe esidala, isizwe ongalwaziyo ulimi lwaso, longayikuzwa esikukhulumayo.
16 Their arrows give certain death, they are all men of war.
Isamba saso semitshoko sinjengengcwaba elivulekileyo; bonke bangamaqhawe.
17 They will take all the produce of your fields, which would have been food for your sons and your daughters: they will take your flocks and your herds: they will take all your vines and your fig-trees: and with the sword they will make waste your walled towns in which you put your faith.
Njalo sizakudla isivuno sakho lokudla kwakho; sizakudla amadodana akho lamadodakazi akho; sizakudla izimvu zakho lenkomo zakho; sizakudla ivini lakho lomkhiwa wakho; lemizi yakho ebiyelweyo othembela kiyo, sizayithelela ubuyanga ngenkemba.
18 But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not let your destruction be complete.
Kodwa langalezonsuku, itsho iNkosi, kangiyikwenza isiphetho esipheleleyo kini.
19 And it will come about, when you say, Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that you will say to them, As you gave me up, making yourselves servants to strange gods in your land, so will you be servants to strange men in a land which is not yours.
Kuzakuthi-ke lapho lisithi: INkosi uNkulunkulu wethu yenzeleni zonke lezizinto kithi? Khona uzakutsho kubo uthi: Njengoba lingidelile, lakhonza onkulunkulu bemzini elizweni lakini, ngokunjalo lizakhonza abezizwe elizweni elingeyisilo lenu.
20 Say this openly in Jacob and give it out in Judah, saying,
Memezelani lokhu endlini kaJakobe, likuzwakalise koJuda, lisithi:
21 Give ear now to this, O foolish people without sense; who have eyes but see nothing, and ears without the power of hearing:
Zwanini-ke lokhu, lina bantu abayizithutha labangelangqondo, elilamehlo, kodwa lingaboni, elilendlebe, kodwa lingezwa.
22 Have you no fear of me? says the Lord; will you not be shaking with fear before me, who have put the sand as a limit for the sea, by an eternal order, so that it may not go past it? and though it is ever in motion, it is not able to have its way; though the sound of its waves is loud, they are not able to go past it.
Kalingesabi yini? itsho iNkosi; kaliyikuthuthumela phambi kwami yini, engabeka itshebetshebe laba ngumngcele wolwandle ngesimiso saphakade olungeledlule? Lanxa amagagasi alo etshayana kube kanti angenqobe; lanxa ehlokoma kube kanti kawayikudlula phezu kwawo.
23 But the heart of this people is uncontrolled and turned away from me; they are broken loose and gone.
Kodwa lababantu balenhliziyo evukelayo lephikayo; baphambukile, bahamba.
24 And they do not say in their hearts, Now let us give worship to our God, who gives the rain, the winter and the spring rain, at the right time; who keeps for us the ordered weeks of the grain-cutting.
Futhi kabatsho enhliziyweni zabo ukuthi: Ake sesabe iNkosi uNkulunkulu wethu, enika izulu lakuqala lelamuva ngesikhathi salo, esigcinela amaviki amisiweyo esivuno.
25 Through your evil-doing these things have been turned away, and your sins have kept back good from you.
Iziphambeko zenu ziphambule lezizinto, lezono zenu zaligodlela okuhle.
26 For there are sinners among my people: they keep watch, like men watching for birds; they put a net and take men in it.
Ngoba phakathi kwabantu bami kutholakala abakhohlakeleyo; bacatheme njengabathiya inyoni; babeka umgibe ochithayo, babambe abantu.
27 As the fowl-house is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: for this reason they have become great and have got wealth.
Njengezongo ligcwele inyoni, zinjalo izindlu zabo zigcwele inkohliso; ngakho-ke sebebakhulu, banothile.
28 They have become fat and strong: they have gone far in works of evil: they give no support to the cause of the child without a father, so that they may do well; they do not see that the poor man gets his rights.
Bazimukile, bancwaba, yebo, bedlula imisebenzi yomubi; kabameli udaba, udaba lwezintandane, kube kanti bayaphumelela; lelungelo labaswelayo kabalahluleli.
29 Am I not to give punishment for these things? says the Lord: will not my soul take payment from such a nation as this?
Kangiyikubajezisa ngalezizinto yini? kutsho iNkosi. Umphefumulo wami kawuyikuphindisela esizweni esinjengalesi yini?
30 A thing of wonder and fear has come about in the land;
Okwethusayo lokwesabekayo kwenzakele elizweni.
31 The prophets give false words and the priests give decisions by their direction; and my people are glad to have it so: and what will you do in the end?
Abaprofethi baprofetha ngamanga, labapristi babusa ngezandla zabo; labantu bami bakuthanda kunjalo; kodwa lizakwenzani ekupheleni kwakho?
