< Nahum 2 >

1 [You people of] [APO] Nineveh, your enemies are coming to attack you. [So] place guards on the tops of the walls around the city! Guard the roads [into the city]! Get ready to fight! Gather your troops/soldiers [MTY] together!
Mshambuliaji anasogea dhidi yako, Ninawi. Linda ngome, chunga barabara, jitieni nguvu wenyewe, kusanya nguvu zako zote!
2 Even though enemy soldiers have destroyed the descendants of [MTY] Jacob, Yahweh will cause them to be honored again. Israel is like a grapevine that has been ruined, but Israel will prosper again.
Bwana atarudisha fahari ya Yakobo, kama fahari ya Israeli, ingawa waangamizi wamewaacha ukiwa na wameharibu mizabibu yao.
3 The shields of the enemy soldiers [who are coming to attack you] will shine red [as the sun shines on them], and they will wear bright red uniforms. The metal of their chariot [wheels] will flash when they line up [before the battle], and their soldiers will lift up their cypress/pine spears and wave them.
Ngao za askari wake ni nyekundu, mashujaa wamevaa nguo nyekundu. Chuma kwenye magari ya vita chametameta, katika siku aliyoyaweka tayari, mikuki ya mierezi inametameta.
4 Their chariots will dash through the streets [of Nineveh] and rush furiously through the plazas. Going as quick as lightning, they will resemble flaming torches.
Magari ya vita yanafanya msukosuko barabarani, yakikimbia nyuma na mbele uwanjani. Yanaonekana kama mienge ya moto; yanakwenda kasi kama umeme.
5 [Meanwhile], your king will summon his officers who will stumble as they [try to] come [quickly]. They will dash to the [city] wall, holding their shields to protect themselves.
Anaita vikosi vilivyochaguliwa, lakini bado wanajikwaa njiani. Wanakimbilia haraka kwenye ukuta wa mji, ile ngao ya kuwakinga imetayarishwa.
6 But, the gates [of the dams] on the rivers will be thrown open [by enemy soldiers], and [the flood will cause] the palace to collapse.
Malango ya mto yamefunguliwa wazi, na jumba la kifalme limeanguka.
7 The queen will have her clothes stripped off her [by enemy soldiers], and her slave girls will moan like doves and beat their breasts [to show that they are very sad].
Imeagizwa kwamba mji uchukuliwe na upelekwe uhamishoni. Vijakazi wake wanaomboleza kama hua na kupigapiga vifua vyao.
8 [The people will rush from] Nineveh like [SIM] water rushes from a broken dam. [The officials] will shout, “Stop! Stop!” but the people will not even look back [as they run away].
Ninawi ni kama dimbwi, nayo maji yake yanakauka. Wanalia, “Simama! Simama!” Lakini hakuna anayegeuka nyuma.
9 [The enemy attackers say to each other, ] “Seize the silver! Grab the gold! There is a huge amount of very valuable things in this city, more valuable things than anyone can count!”
Chukueni nyara za fedha! Chukueni nyara za dhahabu! Wingi wake hauna mwisho, utajiri kutoka hazina zake zote!
10 [Soon everything valuable in the city] will be seized or ruined. People will be trembling, with the result that they will not be able to fight. Their faces will all become pale.
Ameharibiwa, ametekwa nyara, ameachwa uchi! Mioyo inayeyuka, magoti yanalegea, miili inatetemeka, na kila uso umebadilika rangi.
11 [After that happens, people will say, ] “What happened to [RHQ] that [great city of Nineveh]? [It was like] [MET] a den [full] of young lions, where the male and female lions lived and fed the young ones.
Liko wapi sasa pango la simba, mahali ambapo waliwalisha watoto wao, ambapo simba dume na simba jike walikwenda na ambapo wana simba walikwenda bila kuogopa chochote?
12 [The soldiers in Nineveh were like] [MET] lions that killed or strangled [other animals] [and brought the meat] to their dens.”
Simba aliua mawindo ya kutosha watoto wake, alinyonga mawindo kwa ajili ya mwenzi wake, akijaza makao yake kwa alivyoua na mapango yake kwa mawindo.
13 The Commander of the armies of angels says [to the people of Nineveh], “I am opposed to you; I will cause your chariots to [be burned in fires and] go up in smoke. Your young men will be killed with swords. [Your soldiers] will never again conquer [other nations] and seize their valuable possessions. Your messengers will never again take messages [to other nations, demanding that their armies surrender to them].”
Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote anatangaza, “Mimi ni kinyume na ninyi. Magari yenu ya vita nitayateketeza kwa moto, na upanga utakula wana simba wako. Sitawaachia mawindo juu ya nchi. Sauti za wajumbe wako hazitasikika tena.”

< Nahum 2 >