< Jeremiah 10 >
1 You people of Israel, listen to what Yahweh says:
Sikieni lile ambalo Bwana, anena nanyi ee nyumba ya Israeli.
2 “Do not act like the people of [other] nations act, and do not be terrified by strange/unusual things that you see in the sky, even though they cause the [people of other] nations to be terrified.
Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Usijifunze njia za mataifa wala usitishwe na ishara katika anga, ingawa mataifa yanatishwa nazo.
3 The customs of the people [of other nations] are worthless. [For example], they cut down a tree in the forest. Then a [skilled] worker/craftsman [cuts a section of it and] uses his chisel to carve an idol from that section.
Kwa maana desturi za mataifa hazina maana, wanakata mti msituni, na fundi anauchonga kwa patasi.
4 [Then] people decorate the idol with silver and gold. [Then] they fasten it securely with nails in order that it will not topple/fall over.
Wanaparemba kwa fedha na dhahabu, wanakikaza kwa nyundo na misumari ili kisitikisike.
5 [Then] the idol [stands there] like [SIM] a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers/melons! It cannot speak, and people must carry it, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of idols, because they cannot harm [anyone], and they cannot do [anything] good [to help anyone].”
Sanamu zao ni kama sanamu iliyowekwa shambani la matango kutishia ndege nazo haziwezi kuongea; sharti zibebwe sababu haziwezi kutembea. Usiziogope; haziwezi kudhuru, wala kutenda lolote jema.”
6 Yahweh, there is no one like you. You [MTY] are great, and you are very powerful.
Hakuna aliye kama wewe, Ee Bwana; wewe ni mkuu, jina lako ni lenye nguvu katika uweza.
7 You are the king of all the nations! Everyone should [RHQ] revere you, because that is what you deserve. Among all the wise people on the earth and in all the kingdoms where they live, (there is no one like you./who can compare with you?)
Ni nani ambaye haimpasi kukuheshimu wewe, Ee Mfalme wa mataifa? Hii ni stahili yako. Miongoni mwa watu wote wenye hekima katika mataifa na katika falme zao zote, hakuna aliye kama wewe.
8 Those people who [think that they are] very wise [IRO] are stupid and foolish [DOU]. The idols that they worship are only made of wood! Those idols certainly cannot teach them anything.
Wote hawana akili, tena ni wapumbavu, wanafundishwa na sanamu za miti zisizofaa lolote.
9 People hammer into thin sheets silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and then they give those sheets of silver and gold to skilled workers/craftsmen to cover the idols. Then they put on those idols expensive purple robes that are made by skilled workers.
Huleta fedha iliyofuliwa kutoka Tarshishi na dhahabu kutoka Ufazi. Kile ambacho fundi na sonara wametengeneza huvikwa mavazi ya rangi ya samawi na urujuani: vyote vikiwa vimetengenezwa na mafundi stadi.
10 But Yahweh is the [only] true God; he is the all-powerful God, the king [who rules] forever. When he is angry, [all] the earth shakes/quakes; and [the people of] the nations cannot endure [what he does] when he is angry [with them].
Lakini Bwana ni Mungu wa kweli, yeye ndiye Mungu aliye hai, Mfalme wa milele. Anapokasirika, dunia hutetemeka, mataifa hayawezi kustahimili hasira yake.
11 [You Israeli people], tell this to those people: “Those idols did not make the sky and the earth, and they will disappear from the earth.”
“Waambie hivi: ‘Miungu hii, ambayo haikuumba mbingu na dunia, itaangamia kutoka dunia na kutoka chini ya mbingu.’”
12 But [Yahweh] made the earth by his power; he established it [firmly] by his wisdom and stretched out the sky by his understanding.
Lakini Mungu aliiumba dunia kwa uweza wake, akaweka misingi ya ulimwengu kwa hekima yake, na akazitandaza mbingu kwa ufahamu wake.
13 When he speaks [loudly], there is thunder in the sky; he causes clouds to form over every part of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and releases the winds from his storehouses.
Atoapo sauti yake, maji yaliyo katika mbingu hunguruma; huyafanya mawingu yainuke kutoka miisho ya dunia. Hupeleka umeme wa radi pamoja na mvua, naye huuleta upepo kutoka ghala zake.
14 People are senseless and know very little [HYP]; those who make idols are always disappointed because their idols do nothing for them. The images/statues that they make are not real [gods]; they are lifeless.
Kila mmoja ni mjinga na hana maarifa, kila sonara ameaibishwa na sanamu zake. Vinyago vyake ni vya udanganyifu, havina pumzi ndani yavyo.
15 Idols are worthless; they deserve to be ridiculed; there will be a time when they [all] will be destroyed.
Havifai kitu, ni vitu vya kufanyia mzaha tu, hukumu yavyo itakapowadia, vitaangamia.
16 But the God whom we Israelis worship is not like those idols; he is the one who created everything [that exists]; we, the tribe/people of Israel, belong to him; he is the Commander of the armies of angels.
Yeye aliye Fungu la Yakobo sivyo alivyo, kwani ndiye Muumba wa vitu vyote, pamoja na Israeli, kabila la urithi wake: Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ndilo jina lake.
17 [Yahweh says this to the people of Jerusalem]: “The army of your enemies surrounds your city, so gather up your possessions [and prepare] to leave the city.
Kusanyeni mali na vitu vyenu mwondoke nchi hii, enyi mnaoishi katika hali ya kuzingirwa na jeshi.
18 I will soon throw you out of this land and cause you to experience great troubles, with the result that you will have severe pain (OR, none of you will be left here).”
Kwa kuwa hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Wakati huu, nitawatupa nje kwa nguvu wote waishio katika nchi hii; nitawataabisha ili waweze kutekwa.”
19 [The people replied, “It is as though] we have been [badly] wounded, and we are very grieved; [It is as though] we have a very serious illness, and we must endure the pain.
Ole wangu mimi kwa ajili ya kuumia kwangu! Jeraha langu ni kubwa! Lakini nilisema, “Kweli hii ni adhabu yangu, nami sharti niistahimili.”
20 [It is as though] our [great] tent is destroyed; the ropes [that held it up] have been cut; our children have gone away from us and will not return; there are no people left to rebuild our great tent.
Hema langu limeangamizwa; kamba zake zote zimekatwa. Wana wangu wametekwa na hawapo tena; hakuna hata mmoja aliyebaki wa kusimamisha hema langu wala wa kusimamisha kibanda changu.
21 Our leaders [MET] no [longer] have any sense; they no [longer] ask Yahweh [to (guide them/tell them what to do)], so they will no [longer] prosper, and all those over whom they rule [MET] will be scattered.
Wachungaji hawana akili wala hawamuulizi Bwana, hivyo hawastawi na kundi lao lote la kondoo limetawanyika.
22 Listen! [Our enemies’ armies] in the north are making a [very] big noise/commotion [as they march toward us]. The towns in Judah will be destroyed, [and they will become] a place where jackals/wolves live.”
Sikilizeni! Taarifa inakuja: ghasia kubwa kutoka nchi ya kaskazini! Hii itafanya miji ya Yuda ukiwa, makao ya mbweha.
23 Yahweh, I know that no person controls what will happen to him; no one is able to direct the events that he will experience.
Ninajua, Ee Bwana, kwamba maisha ya mwanadamu si yake mwenyewe; hawezi kuziongoza hatua zake mwenyewe.
24 [So] correct/discipline us, but do it gently. Do not correct/punish us when you are angry, because we would die if you did that.
Unirudi, Ee Bwana, lakini kwa kipimo cha haki: si katika hasira yako, usije ukaniangamiza.
25 Punish [MTY] [all] the nations whose people do not acknowledge/say that you are God; punish all the nations whose people do not worship you, because they are completely destroying [DOU] [us people of] Israel and they are causing our land to soon be only a desert.
Umwage ghadhabu yako juu ya mataifa wasiokujua wewe, juu ya mataifa wasioliitia jina lako. Kwa kuwa wamemwangamiza Yakobo; wamemwangamiza kabisa na kuiharibu nchi yake.