< Jeremiah 22 >
1 Thus said the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word;
Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Shuka kwenye jumba la kifalme la mfalme wa Yuda, utangaze ujumbe huu huko:
2 And thou shalt say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
‘Sikia neno la Bwana, ee mfalme wa Yuda, wewe uketiye kwenye kiti cha enzi cha Daudi: wewe, maafisa wako na watu wako mnaopitia malango haya.
3 Thus hath said the Lord, Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor; and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow shall ye not oppress, and do them no violence, and shed no innocent blood in this place.
Hili ndilo Bwana asemalo: Tenda haki na adili. Mwokoe mkononi mwa mdhalimu yeye aliyetekwa nyara. Usimtendee mabaya wala ukatili mgeni, yatima au mjane, wala usimwage damu isiyo na hatia mahali hapa.
4 For if ye indeed will do this thing, then shall enter in through the gates of this house kings sitting after David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Kwa kuwa ukiwa mwangalifu kushika maagizo haya, ndipo wafalme watakaokalia kiti cha enzi cha Daudi watakapoingia kupitia malango ya jumba hili la kifalme, wakiwa wamepanda magari na farasi, huku wakifuatana na maafisa wao na watu wao.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, then do I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a ruin.
Lakini kama hutayatii maagizo haya, asema Bwana, ninaapa kwa nafsi yangu kwamba jumba hili litakuwa gofu.’”
6 For thus hath said the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah, A Gil'ad [though] thou art unto me, a summit of the Lebanon: yet I will surely change thee into a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.
Kwa kuwa hili ndilo Bwana asemalo kuhusu jumba la kifalme la mfalme wa Yuda: “Ingawa uko kama Gileadi kwangu, kama kilele cha Lebanoni, hakika nitakufanya uwe kama jangwa, kama miji ambayo haijakaliwa na watu.
7 And I will make ready against thee destroyers, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast them into the fire.
Nitawatuma waharabu dhidi yako, kila mtu akiwa na silaha zake, nao watazikata boriti zako nzuri za mierezi na kuzitupa motoni.
8 And [when] many nations [then] pass by this city, they will say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the Lord done the like unto this great city?
“Watu kutoka mataifa mengi watapitia karibu na mji huu na kuulizana, ‘Kwa nini Bwana amefanya jambo la namna hii juu ya mji huu mkubwa?’
9 Then shall they say, Because they had forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and bowed down unto other gods, and served them.
Nalo jibu litakuwa: ‘Kwa sababu wameliacha agano la Bwana, Mungu wao, na wameabudu na kuitumikia miungu mingine.’”
10 Weep not for the dead, and do not bemoan him: weep sorely for him that goeth away; for he shall never return any more, and see the land of his birth.
Usimlilie yeye aliyekufa, wala usimwombolezee; badala yake, afadhali umlilie kwa uchungu yule aliyepelekwa uhamishoni, kwa sababu kamwe hatairudia wala kuiona tena nchi yake alikozaliwa.
11 For thus hath said the Lord respecting Shallum the son of Josiah the king of Judah, who reigneth in the place of Josiah his father, who is gone forth out of this place, He shall never return thither any more;
Kwa kuwa hili ndilo asemalo Bwana kuhusu Shalumu mwana wa Yosia, aliyeingia mahali pa baba yake kuwa mfalme wa Yuda, lakini ameondoka mahali hapa: “Yeye kamwe hatarudi tena.
12 But in the place whither they have led him into exile, there shall he die; but this land shall he not see any more.
Atafia huko mahali walipompeleka kuwa mateka; hataiona tena nchi hii.”
13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that maketh his neighbor work without wages, and giveth him not the reward for his labor;
“Ole wake yeye ajengaye jumba lake la kifalme kwa njia ya dhuluma, vyumba vyake vya juu kwa udhalimu, akiwatumikisha watu wa nchi yake pasipo malipo, bila kuwalipa kwa utumishi wao.
14 That saith, I will build me a roomy house, and ample chambers, and cutteth himself out windows, and ceileth it with cedar, and painteth it with colors.
Asema, ‘Nitajijengea jumba kuu la kifalme, na vyumba vya juu vyenye nafasi kubwa.’ Hivyo anaweka ndani yake madirisha makubwa, huweka kuta za mbao za mierezi, na kuipamba kwa rangi nyekundu.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel with cedar buildings? behold, thy father ate and drank, but he executed justice and righteousness: then was it well with him!
“Je, inakufanya kuwa mfalme huko kuongeza idadi ya mierezi? Je, baba yako hakuwa na chakula na kinywaji? Alifanya yaliyo sawa na haki, hivyo yeye akafanikiwa katika yote.
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then was it well: is not this the proper knowledge of me? saith the Lord.
Aliwatetea maskini na wahitaji, hivyo yeye akafanikiwa katika yote. Je, hiyo si ndiyo maana ya kunijua mimi?” asema Bwana.
17 But thy eyes and thy heart are directed on nothing but upon thy own gain, and upon innocent blood to shed it, and upon oppression, and upon extortion, to practise them.
“Lakini macho yako na moyo wako vimeelekezwa tu katika mapato ya udhalimu, kwa kumwaga damu isiyo na hatia, kwa uonevu na ukatili.”
18 Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, They shall not lament for him, with, “Woe, my brother!” and, “Woe, sister!” they shall not lament for him, with “Woe, lord!” and, “Woe, to his glory!”
Kwa hiyo hili ndilo asemalo Bwana kuhusu Yehoyakimu mwana wa Yosia mfalme wa Yuda: “Hawatamwombolezea wakisema: ‘Ole, ndugu yangu! Ole, umbu langu!’ Hawatamwombolezea wakisema: ‘Ole, bwana wangu! Ole, fahari yake!’
19 With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, dragged about and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Atazikwa maziko ya punda: ataburutwa na kutupwa nje ya malango ya Yerusalemu.”
20 Ascend the Lebanon, and cry aloud; and let thy voice resound in Bashan; and cry aloud from 'Aharim; for crushed are all thy lovers.
“Panda Lebanoni ukapige kelele, sauti yako na isikike huko Bashani, piga kelele toka Abarimu, kwa kuwa wote waliojiunga nawe wameangamizwa.
21 I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy very youth, that thou didst not hearken to my voice.
Nilikuonya wakati ulipojisikia kwamba uko salama, lakini ulisema, ‘Mimi sitasikiliza!’ Hii imekuwa kawaida yako tangu ujana wako; hujanitii mimi.
22 The wind shall scatter abroad all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded because of all thy wickedness.
Upepo utawaondoa wachungaji wako wote, na wale ulioungana nao wataenda uhamishoni. Kisha utaaibika na kufedheheka kwa sababu ya uovu wako wote.
23 O inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how full of grace wilt thou be! when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
Wewe uishiye Lebanoni, wewe uliyetulia kwenye majengo ya mierezi, tazama jinsi utakavyoomboleza maumivu makali yatakapokupata, maumivu kama yale ya mwanamke mwenye utungu wa kuzaa!
24 As I live, saith the Lord, though Conyahu the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah were a signet upon my right hand, yet for a surety would I thence pluck thee;
“Hakika kama niishivyo,” asema Bwana, “hata kama wewe, Yekonia mwana wa Yehoyakimu mfalme wa Yuda, ungekuwa pete yangu ya muhuri katika mkono wangu wa kuume, bado ningekungʼoa hapo.
25 And I will give thee into the hand of those that seek thy life, and into the hand of those of whom thou art afraid, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Nitakutia mikononi mwa wale wanaotafuta uhai wako, wale unaowaogopa, yaani Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli na kwa Wakaldayo.
26 And I will hurl thee out, and thy mother that hath born thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
Nitakutupa mbali wewe na mama aliyekuzaa mwende katika nchi nyingine, ambayo hakuna hata mmoja wenu aliyezaliwa huko, nanyi mtafia huko.
27 But to the land whitherward they direct their soul to return, thither shall they not return.
Kamwe hamtarudi katika nchi mliyotamani kuirudia.”
28 Is this man Conyahu a despised broken image? or a vessel without value? wherefore are they hurled out, he and his seed, and are cast forth into a land which they know not?
Je, huyu mtu Yekonia ni chungu kilichodharauliwa, chungu kilichovunjika, chombo kisichotakiwa na mtu yeyote? Kwa nini yeye na watoto wake watupwe nje kwa nguvu, na kutupwa kwenye nchi wasioijua?
29 O land, land, land! hear the word of the Lord.
Ee nchi, nchi, nchi, sikia neno la Bwana!
30 Thus hath said the Lord, Write ye down this man as childless, as a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall succeed to sit upon the throne of David, and to rule any more in Judah.
Hili ndilo Bwana asemalo: “Mwandike huyu mtu kama asiye na mtoto, mtu ambaye hatafanikiwa maisha yake yote, kwa maana hakuna mtoto wake atakayefanikiwa, wala kukaa kwenye kiti cha enzi cha Daudi wala kuendelea kutawala katika Yuda.”