Jeremiah 4
1 Yahweh says, “You Israeli [people], come back to me! If you get rid of those detestable idols and do not turn away from me [again],
“Ngati mukufuna kubwerera, inu Aisraeli, bwererani kwa Ine,” akutero Yehova. “Chotsani mafano anu onyansa pamaso panga ndipo musasocherenso.
2 and if you declare, ‘Just as surely as Yahweh lives, what he says is true,’ and if you [start to] always say what is true and act justly/fairly and righteously, then the [people in the other] nations [of the world] will request that I bless them [as I have blessed you], and they will [all come and] honor/praise me.”
Muzilumbira mokhulupirika ndiponso mwa chilungamo kuti, ‘Pali Yehova wamoyo.’ Mukatero anthu a mitundu ina yonse adzandipempha kuti ndiwadalitse ndipo adzanditamanda.”
3 This is what Yahweh says to the people of Jerusalem and [the other cities in] Judah: “[Prepare yourselves to receive my messages] like farmers plow up hard ground [in order that they can plant seed in it]. Just as farmers do not [waste good seed by] sowing seeds among thorny plants, [I do not want to waste my time telling you messages that you are not ready to receive].
Zimene Yehova akunena kwa anthu a ku Yuda ndi a ku Yerusalemu ndi izi: “Limani masala anu musadzale pakati pa minga.
4 Purify your inner beings and your minds for me. If you do not do that, my being angry with you [MTY] because of [all] the sins that you have committed will be like a fire that will be impossible to extinguish.”
Dziperekeni nokha kwa Ine kuti munditumikire ndi mtima wanu wonse, inu anthu a ku Yuda ndi ku Yerusalemu. Muzichita zimenezi kuopa kuti mkwiyo wanga ungabuke ngati moto ndi kukutenthani, chifukwa cha ntchito zanu zoyipazo popanda wina wowuzimitsa.
5 “Declare this [DOU] to [all the people in] Jerusalem and [the rest of] Judea; blow the trumpets everywhere in the land [to warn the people]. Tell them that they should flee to the cities that have high walls around them.
“Lengeza ku Yuda ndi kulalikira mu Yerusalemu kuti, ‘Lizani lipenga mʼdziko lonse!’ Ndipo fuwulani kuti, ‘Sonkhanani! Tiyeni tithawire ku mizinda yotetezedwa!’
6 Shout to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Run away [now]! Do not delay, because I am about to cause you to experience a terrible disaster [DOU] that will come from the north.
Kwezani mbendera kuyangʼana ku Ziyoni! Musachedwe, thawani kuti mupulumuke! Pakuti Ine ndikubweretsa chilango kuchokera kumpoto, kudzakhala chiwonongeko choopsa.”
7 [An army] that has destroyed [many] nations will attack you [like] [MET] a lion that comes out of its den [to attack other animals]. [The soldiers of that army] have taken down their tents and they are ready to march toward your land. They will destroy your cities and leave them without any people still living in them.’
Monga mkango umatulukira mʼngaka yake momwemonso wowononga mayiko wanyamuka ndi kutuluka ku mbuto yake. Watero kuti awononge dziko lanu. Mizinda yanu idzakhala mabwinja popanda wokhalamo.
8 So, put on sackcloth/rough clothes and weep and beat your chests [to show that you are very sorry for what you have done], because Yahweh is still very angry with us.
Choncho valani ziguduli, lirani ndi kubuwula, pakuti mkwiyo waukulu wa Yehova sunatichokere.
9 Yahweh said that at the time [he punishes you], the King of Judah and [all his] officials will be very afraid. The priests and the prophets will be terrified.
“Pa tsiku limenelo, mfumu ndi nduna zake adzataya mtima, ansembe adzachita mantha kwambiri, ndipo aneneri adzathedwa nzeru,” akutero Yehova.
10 Then I replied, “Yahweh [my] God, you completely deceived the people by telling them that there would be peace in Jerusalem, but now [our enemies] [PRS] are ready to slaughter us with their swords!”
Ndipo ine ndinati, “Haa, Ambuye Yehova, ndithu munawanyenga anthu awa pamodzi ndi Yerusalemu pamene munanena kuti, ‘Mudzakhala pa mtendere,’ chonsecho lupanga lili pakhosi pathu.”
11 When that happens, [Yahweh] will say to the people of Jerusalem, [“A huge army will come to attack you]. They will not [be like a gentle breeze that] separates wheat from chaff. [They will be like] a very hot wind [that blows in] from the desert [MET].
Nthawi imeneyo anthu awa ndi Yerusalemu adzawawuza kuti, “Mphepo yotentha yochokera ku magomo a mʼchipululu ikuwomba pa anthu anga, osati mphepo yopeta kapena yoyeretsa;
12 [They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”
koma mphepo yamphamvu kwambiri yochokera kwa Ine. Tsono ndi Ineyo amene ndikuwaweruza.”
13 [Our enemies] are about to rush down on us; their chariots are like [SIM] whirlwinds. Their horses are faster than eagles. It will be terrible for us!
Taonani, adani akubwera ngati mitambo, magaleta awo akubwera ngati kamvuluvulu, akavalo awo ndi aliwiro kupambana chiwombankhanga. Tsoka ilo! Tawonongeka!
14 [You people of] Jerusalem [APO], purify your hearts/inner beings, in order that Yahweh will rescue you. How long will you continue to think about [doing] evil things?
Iwe Yerusalemu, tsuka mtima wako kuchotsa zoyipa kuti upulumuke. Kodi maganizo ako oyipawo udzakhala nawo mpaka liti?
15 From Dan [city in the far north] to the hills of Ephraim [a few miles/kilometers north of Jerusalem] messengers are proclaiming that disasters are coming.
Pakuti amithenga akulalika mawu mʼdziko la Dani; akulengeza za masautso kuchokera ku mapiri a Efereimu.
16 Tell this to the [people in other] nations [but also] announce it in Jerusalem: [Yahweh says], “An army is coming to Jerusalem from far away; they will shout [a battle-cry] against the cities in Judah.
Iwo akuti, “Fotokozani zimenezi kwa anthu a mitundu ina, lengezani zimenezi mu Yerusalemu kuti, ‘Ankhondo akubwera kuchokera ku dziko lakutali, akufuwula ndi kudzazinga mizinda ya Yuda.
17 They will set up tents around Jerusalem like people set up temporary shelters [SIM] around a field [at harvest time]. That will happen because the people of Judah have rebelled against me.
Azinga Yerusalemu ngati anthu olondera munda, chifukwa Yerusalemu wandiwukira,’” akutero Yehova.
18 You will be punished very severely; it will [be as though a sword] has stabbed your inner beings. But you are causing those things to happen to you because of the evil things that you have done.”
“Makhalidwe anu ndi zochita zanu zakubweretserani zimenezi. Chimenechi ndiye chilango chanu. Nʼchowawa kwambiri! Nʼcholasa mpaka mu mtima!”
19 I am extremely anguished/sad; the pain in my inner being is very severe. My heart beats wildly. But I cannot remain silent because I have heard [our enemies] blowing their trumpets to announce that the battle [against Judah will start immediately].
Mayo, mayo, ndikumva kupweteka! Aa, mtima wanga ukupweteka, ukugunda kuti thi, thi, thi. Sindingathe kukhala chete. Pakuti ndamva kulira kwa lipenga; ndamva mfuwu wankhondo.
20 Disasters will occur one after another until the whole land is ruined. Suddenly [all] our tents will be destroyed; [even] the curtains [inside the tents] will be ripped apart.
Tsoka limatsata tsoka linzake; dziko lonse lasanduka bwinja. Mwadzidzidzi matenti athu awonongedwa, mwa kanthawi kochepa nsalu zake zotchinga zagwetsedwa.
21 How long will this battle continue? How long will I continue to see the enemy battle flags and hear the sound of their trumpets being blown?
Kodi ndikhale ndikuona mbendera ya nkhondo, ndi kumva kulira kwa lipenga mpaka liti?
22 [Yahweh says], “My people are [very] foolish! They do not have a relationship with me. They are [like] [MET] stupid children who do not understand [anything]. They very cleverly do what is wrong, but they do not know how to do what is good.”
Yehova akuti, “Anthu anga ndi zitsiru; iwo sandidziwa. Iwo ndi ana opanda nzeru; samvetsa chilichonse. Ali ndi luso lochita zoyipa, koma sadziwa kuchita zabwino.”
23 [God gave me a vision in which] I saw that the earth was barren and without form. I looked at the sky, and there was no light there.
Ndinayangʼana dziko lapansi, ndipo linali lopanda anthu ndi lopanda kanthu; ndinayangʼana thambo, koma linalibe kuwala kulikonse.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.
Ndinayangʼana mapiri, ndipo ankagwedezeka; magomo onse ankangosunthira uku ndi uku.
25 I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.
Ndinayangʼana, ndipo sindinaone anthu; mbalame iliyonse ya mlengalenga inali itathawa.
26 I looked and saw that the fields that previously were fertile had become a desert. The cities were all ruined; they had all been destroyed by Yahweh because he was extremely angry.
Ndinayangʼana, dziko lachonde linali litasanduka chipululu; mizinda yake yonse inali itasanduka bwinja pamaso pa Yehova, chifukwa cha mkwiyo wake.
27 This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
Yehova akuti, “Dziko lonse lidzasanduka chipululu komabe sindidzaliwononga kotheratu.
28 I will do to my people what I said that I would do, and I will not change my mind. So [when that happens, it will be as though] the earth will mourn and the sky will become very dark.”
Chifukwa chake dziko lapansi lidzalira ndipo thambo lidzachita mdima, pakuti ndayankhula ndipo sindidzafewa mtima, ndatsimikiza ndipo sindidzabwerera mʼmbuyo.”
29 [When the people hear] the sound of the [enemy] army marching, [they will be terrified as] they flee from their cities. Some of them will find places to hide in the bushes, and others will run toward the mountains/hills [to escape being killed by their enemies]. All the cities [in Judah] will be abandoned; not one person will remain in them.
Pakumva phokoso la okwera pa akavalo ndi la anthu oponya mivi, anthu a mʼmizinda adzathawa. Ena adzabisala ku nkhalango; ena adzakwera mʼmatanthwe mizinda yonse nʼkuyisiya; popanda munthu wokhalamo.
30 So you who will surely be destroyed, [why are you doing the things that you are doing now]? Why are you wearing beautiful clothes and jewelry? Why are you putting paint around your eyes? Doing those things will not help you, because the people [in other countries that you think] love you [actually] despise you, and they will try to kill you.
Iwe Yerusalemu, ndiwe bwinja! Ukutanthauza chiyani kuvala zovala zofiira ndi kuvalanso zokometsera zagolide? Ngakhale udzikonze maso ako powapaka zokometsera, ukungodzivuta chabe. Zibwenzi zako zikukunyoza; zikufuna kuchotsa moyo wako.
31 [It is as though] I already hear [the people in Jerusalem] crying very loudly, like [SIM] a woman cries when she is giving birth to her first child; she gasps for breath and pleads for someone to help her. [It is as though Jerusalem] is crying, “Something terrible is happening to me! They are about to murder me!”
Ndikumva kulira ngati kwa mayi pa nthawi yake yobereka, kubuwula ngati kwa mayi amene akubereka mwana wake woyamba. Kuliraku ndi kwa anthu a mu Ziyoni, wefuwefu. Atambalitsa manja awo nʼkumati, “Kalanga ife! Tikukomoka. Moyo wathu waperekedwa kwa anthu otipha.”
