< Sophonias 2 >
1 Be ye gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;
Kusanyikeni pamoja ninyi wenyewe mkutano wa hadhara na kusanyikeni, taifa lisilokuwa na aibu -
2 before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.
kabla amri kuchukua madhara na siku hiyo kupita kama makapi, kabla hasira kali ya ghadhabu ya Yahwe kuja juu yenu, kabla siku ya ghadhabu ya Bwana kuja juu yenu.
3 Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that ye may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord.
Mtafuteni Yahwe, ninyi watu wote wanyenyekevu duniani mnaozitii amri zake! Tafuteni haki yake. Tafuteni unyenyekevu, na labda mtalindwa katika siku ya ghadhabu ya Yahwe.
4 For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up.
hivyo Gaza utatelekezwa, na Ashkeloni utageuka kuwa uharibifu. Watauondoshea mbali Ashdodi wakati wa mchana, na wataung'oa Ekroni!
5 Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of [your] dwelling-place.
Ole kwa wanaokaa kando ya bahari, taifa la Wakerethi! Yahwe amesema dhidi yenu, Kanaani, nchi ya Wafilisiti. Nitawaangamiza hakuna mkazi atakayebakia.
6 And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.
Hiyo nchi ya kando ya bahari itakuwa malisho kwa wachungaji na kwa mazizi ya kondoo.
7 And the sea cost shall be for the remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity.
Nchi ya kando ya bahari itakuwa mali ya mabaki ya watu wa nyumba ya Yuda, watakaochungia makundi yao huko. Watu wao watalala jioni katika nyumba ya Ashikeloni, kwa kuwa Yahwe Mungu wao atawatunza na kurejesha wafungwa wao.
8 I have heard the revilings of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people, and magnified themselves against my coasts.
Nilizisikia dhihaka za Moabu na wakiwatukana watu wa Amoni wakati walipowadhihaki watu wangu na kujitukuza mipakani mwao.
9 Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus [shall be] left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them.
Kwa hiyo, kama ninavyoishi - hili ni tamko la Yahwe wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, - Moabu itakuja kuwa kama Sodoma, na watu wa Amoni kama Gomora; mahali pa viwavi na shimo la chumvi, jangwa la daima. Lakini watu wangu waliosalia watawateka mateka, na watu wa taifa langu waliobaki watachukua umiliki wao.'
10 This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.
Hili litatokea kwa Moabu na Amoni kwa sababu ya kiburi chao, tangu walipowadhihaki na kuwatukana watu wa Yahwe wa majeshi.
11 The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall worship him every one from his place, [even] all the islands of the nations.
Ndipo watamwogopa Yahwe, kwa kuwa ataidhihaki miungu yote ya dunia. Kila mmoja atamwabudu yeye, kila mmoja kutoka mahali pake, kutoka kila upande wa pwani.
12 Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.
Ninyi Wakushi pia mtakufa kwa upanga wangu,
13 And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, [even] as a desert.
na mkono wa Mungu utaishambulia kaskazini na kuiangamiza Ashuru, Kwa hiyo Ninawi utatelekezwa kwa kuteketezwa, kuwa pakavu kama jangwa.
14 And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was [as] as cedar.
Ndipo makundi ya wanyama yatalala pale, kila mnyama wa mataifa, wote kirukanjia na nungunungu watapumzika juu ya safu zao. Sauti itasikika kutoka madirishani; kifusi kitakuwa milangoni; nakshi za mwerezi wao mihimili itakuwa imeifunua.
huu ni mji wa kushangiliwa ambao umekaa pasipo hofu, ambaye husema moyoni mwake, “Mimi niko, na hakuna mwingine wa kufanana na Mimi”. Kwa namna ulivyokuwa wa kutisha, mahali pa kulala wanyama ndani yake. Kila mmoja ambaye hupitia kwake huuhisia na kutingisha ngumi kwake.