Nahum 3
1 What a disaster is coming upon this murderous city with all its treachery! It is full of wealth it has robbed, and always has plenty of victims.
Ole kwa mji uliojaa damu! Wote umejaa uongo na mali za wizi; wahanga wapo kwake daima.
2 Listen to the noise: whips crack, wheels clatter, horses gallop, chariots rattle!
Lakini sasa kunasauti ya mijeledi na sauti za kugongesha matairi, farasi wakicheza, na magari ya vita yanaruka ruka.
3 Horsemen charge, swords flash, spears glitter! Many dead, piles of corpses, countless bodies—so many that people stumble over them.
Kuna wapanda farasi wanashambulia, Upanga unang'ara, mikuki inametameta, marundo ya maiti, mafungu makubwa ya miili; hakuna ukomo wa miili, washambuliaji wanajikwaa juu yake.
4 All this happens because the repeated prostitution of Nineveh the prostitute, the beautiful mistress with her deadly charms who seduces nations into slavery by her prostitution and her witchcraft.
Hii inatokea kwa sababu ya matendo ya tamaa ya kahaba mzuri, mzoefu wa uchawi, mwenye kuuza taifa kwa umalaya wake, na watu kwa njia ya matendo yake ya kichawi.
5 Watch out! For I am against you, declares the Lord Almighty. I will lift your skirts over your face and let the nations see your nakedness, and kingdoms see your shame.
“Tazama, mimi nipo kinyume na wewe- hili ni neno la Yehova wa majeshi- sketi yako nitaiinua juu ya uso wako na kuzionyesha sehemu zako za siri kwa mataifa, aibu yako kwa falme.
6 I will throw filth at you. I will treat you with contempt, and make a spectacle of you.
Nitarusha uchafu wa kuchukiza na kukufanya uwe mbaya sana; nitakufanya uwe mtu wa kutazamwa na kila mmoja.
7 Then everyone who sees you will shun you saying, “Nineveh is ruined! But who is going to mourn your loss?” Where should I look to find anyone to comfort you?
Itakuwa kwamba kila mmoja anayekutazama atakukimbia na kusema, “Ninawi ameharibika; ni nani ataomboleza kwa ajili yake?' Ni wapi nitampata mtu anayeweza kukufariji?”
8 Are you any better than the city of Thebes on the River Nile, surrounded by water? Water was its defense, water was its wall.
Ninawi, je wewe ni bora kuliko Noamoni, uliojengwa juu ya Mto Naili, uliokuwa umezungukwa na maji, ambao ulinzi wake ilikuwa bahari, ambao ukuta wake ilikuwa bahari yenyewe?
9 The city ruled Egypt and Ethiopia. Put and Libya were its allies.
Ethiopia na Misri zilikuwa nguvu zake, na mwisho wake haukuwepo; Putu na Libya walikuwa rafiki zake.
10 Yet its people were also taken away into exile, into captivity. Their babies were dashed to pieces in every street. Their nobles were bound in chains and taken away as servants, chosen by lot.
Lakini Noamoni alichukuliwa; alikwenda kwenye mateka; watoto wake wadogo walivunjwa vipande vipande katika kila makao makuu ya mtaa; adui zake walipiga kura kwa watu wake wenye heshima na wakuu wake wote walifungwa minyororo.
11 You too will behave like a drunk. You will hide in fear, trying to find a place safe from the enemy.
Wewe pia utalewa; utajaribu kujificha, na utatafuta makimbilio kutoka kwa adui yako.
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees ripe with fruit—they fall when they are shaken into the mouth of the one eating.
Ngome zako zote zitakuwa kama mitini yenye tini zilizoiva mapema: kama zikitikiswa, zitaangukia kwenye kimywa cha mlaji.
13 Look! Your soldiers are women among you. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; the bars of the gates will be set on fire.
Tazama, watu miongoni mwenu ni wanawake; malango ya nchi yako yamefunguliwa sana kwa ajili ya adui zako; moto umeharibu bawaba zake.
14 Store water to prepare for a siege! Strengthen your fortresses! Go to the clay pits to tread it well, mix the cement, get your brick molds ready!
Nenda ukachote maji kwenye boma iliyozingirwa; ziimarishe ngome zako; nenda kwenye udongo na kandamiza matope; finyanga kwa ajili ya matofali.
15 But even so, there the fire will consume you, you will be cut down by the sword. You will be destroyed as if you were devoured by a swarm of locusts. So multiply yourselves like locusts, like a swarm of locusts.
Moto utakuteketeza pale, na upanga utakuangamiza. Utateketezwa kama nzige wachanga wanavyoteketeza kila kitu. Ninyi wenyewe mjitengeneze kuwa wengi kama nzige wachanga, na wengi kama nzinge waliopevuka.
16 You increased your merchants so that there are more of them than the stars of heaven. But like locusts they strip everything and then fly away.
Umezidisha wafanyabiashara wako zaidi kuliko nyota mbinguni; lakini wapo kama tunutu: wanapora nchi na kisha kuruka kwenda mbali.
17 Your leaders are like locusts, your officials like a swarm of locusts. They rest on walls on a cold day, but when the sun rises they fly away, and no one knows where they've gone.
Wafalme wenu wapo wengi kama zinge, na wakuu wenu wa majeshi ni kama kundi la wadudu wenye kuweka kambi katika ukuta wakati wa baridi. Lakini jua linapowaka wanaruka kwenda mbali ambako hakuna anayepajua.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds are asleep, your princes are slumbering. Your people are scattered across the mountains and no one can gather them.
Mfalme wa Ashuru, wachungaji wako wamelala; watawala wako wamejilaza chini kupumzika. Watu wako wametawanyika juu ya milima, na hakuna hata mmoja wa kuwakusanya.
19 There is no way to heal your injuries, you are too badly wounded. Everyone who hears this news will applaud what has happened to you, for was there anyone who escaped your continuous cruelty?
Hakuna uponyaji unaowezekana kwa ajili ya vidonda vyako. Vidonda vyako ni vikubwa. Wanaosikia habari juu yako watapiga makofi kwa furaha juu yako. Ni nani aliyejiepusha kwa uovu wako wa daima?
