< Zechariah 10 >
1 Ask the Lord for rain in springtime, for he makes the rainclouds and sends showers to grow crops for everyone.
Mwombeni Bwana mvua wakati wa vuli; ndiye Bwana atengenezaye mawingu ya tufani. Huwapa watu manyunyu ya mvua, pia mimea ya shambani kwa ajili ya kila mtu.
2 Household idols give worthless answers, fortune-tellers tell lies, while interpreters of dreams just make things up and offer only false hope. As a result, people wander aimlessly like sheep, suffering because there is no shepherd.
Sanamu huzungumza udanganyifu, waaguzi huona maono ya uongo; husimulia ndoto ambazo si za kweli, wanatoa faraja batili. Kwa hiyo watu wanatangatanga kama kondoo walioonewa kwa kukosa mchungaji.
3 I am angry with the shepherds, I will punish the leaders. For the Lord Almighty cares for his flock, the people of Judah, and will make them like his splendid warhorse.
“Hasira yangu inawaka dhidi ya wachungaji, nami nitawaadhibu viongozi; kwa kuwa Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote atalichunga kundi lake, nyumba ya Yuda, naye atawafanya kuwa kama farasi mwenye kiburi akiwa vitani.
4 From the people of Judah will come the cornerstone, from them the tent-peg, the bow used in battle—all their rulers together.
Kutoka Yuda litatokea Jiwe la pembeni, kutoka kwake vitatoka vigingi vya hema, kutoka kwake utatoka upinde wa vita, kutoka kwake atatoka kila mtawala.
5 They will be like warriors going into battle, trampling their enemies in the mud. Because the Lord is with them they will fight and defeat the enemy cavalry.
Kwa pamoja watakuwa kama mashujaa wanaokanyaga barabara za matope wakati wa vita. Kwa sababu Bwana yu pamoja nao, watapigana na kuwashinda wapanda farasi.
6 I will strengthen the people of Judah; I will save the people of Joseph. I will bring them back home because I am concerned for them. It will be like I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer their cries for help.
“Nitaiimarisha nyumba ya Yuda na kuiokoa nyumba ya Yosefu. Nitawarejesha kwa sababu nina huruma juu yao. Watakuwa kama watu ambao sijawahi kuwakataa kwa sababu mimi ndimi Bwana Mungu wao, nami nitawajibu.
7 The people of Ephraim will become like warriors, and they will become so happy—as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see what is happening and will be glad too, joyful in the Lord.
Waefraimu watakuwa kama mashujaa, mioyo yao itafurahi kana kwamba ni kwa divai. Watoto wao wataona na kufurahi, mioyo yao itashangilia katika Bwana.
8 I will whistle to them and they will run to me. I will rescue them, and there will be as many as there were before.
Nitawaashiria na kuwakusanya ndani. Hakika nitawakomboa, nao watakuwa wengi kama walivyokuwa mwanzoni.
9 I have scattered them like seed among the nations, and in distant places they will remember me. They will bring up their children, and together they will return.
Ijapokuwa niliwatawanya miongoni mwa mataifa, hata hivyo wakiwa katika nchi za mbali watanikumbuka mimi. Wao na watoto wao watanusurika katika hatari nao watarudi.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt; I will gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there won't be enough room for them!
Nitawarudisha kutoka Misri na kuwakusanya toka Ashuru. Nitawaleta katika nchi ya Gileadi na Lebanoni, na hapo hapatakuwa na nafasi ya kuwatosha.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble and strike the waves of the sea, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. Assyria's pride will be brought down, and Egypt's rule will pass away.
Watapita katika bahari ya mateso; bahari iliyochafuka itatulizwa na vilindi vyote vya Mto Naili vitakauka. Kiburi cha Ashuru kitashushwa, nayo fimbo ya utawala ya Misri itatoweka.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord, and they will follow all he says, declares the Lord.
Nitawaimarisha katika Bwana, na katika jina lake watatembea,” asema Bwana.