Zephaniah 2
1 You people [of Judah] who ought to be ashamed, gather together [DOU].
Kusanyikeni pamoja, kusanyikeni pamoja, enyi taifa lisilo na aibu,
2 Yahweh is extremely angry with you, [so gather together now], before it is time for him to punish [MTY] you and blow you away like [SIM] [the wind blows away] chaff.
kabla ya wakati ulioamriwa haujafika na siku ile inayopeperusha kama makapi, kabla hasira kali ya Bwana haijaja juu yenu, kabla siku ya ghadhabu ya Bwana haijaja juu yenu.
3 All you people in Judah who are humble, worship Yahweh, and obey what he has commanded. Try to do what is right and to be humble. [If you do that], perhaps Yahweh will protect/spare you on the day when he punishes [MTY] people.
Mtafuteni Bwana, enyi nyote wanyenyekevu wa nchi, ninyi ambao hufanya lile analoamuru. Tafuteni haki, tafuteni unyenyekevu; labda mtahifadhiwa siku ya hasira ya Bwana.
4 [When Yahweh punishes Philistia], Gaza and Ashkelon [cities] will be deserted/abandoned. Ashdod [city] will be attacked and the people expelled at noon [when people are resting]; the [people of Ekron city] will [also] be driven out.
Gaza utaachwa na Ashkeloni utaachwa magofu. Wakati wa adhuhuri Ashdodi utaachwa mtupu na Ekroni utangʼolewa.
5 And terrible things will happen to you people of Philistia who live near the sea, because Yahweh has decided [MTY] that he will punish [MTY] you, [also]. He will get rid of all of you; not one person will (survive/remain alive).
Ole wenu ninyi ambao mnaishi kando ya bahari, enyi Wakerethi; neno la Bwana liko dhidi yenu, ee Kanaani, nchi ya Wafilisti. “Mimi nitawaangamiza, na hakuna atakayebaki.”
6 The land [of Philistia] near the sea will become a pasture, a place for shepherds and their sheep pens.
Nchi kando ya bahari, mahali ambapo wanaishi Wakerethi, patakuwa mahali pa wachungaji na mazizi ya kondoo.
7 The people of Judah who (survive/are still alive) will possess that land. At night they will sleep in the [deserted] houses in Ashkelon. Yahweh will take care of them; he will enable them to prosper again.
Itakuwa mali ya mabaki ya nyumba ya Yuda, hapo watapata malisho. Wakati wa jioni watajilaza chini katika nyumba za Ashkeloni. Bwana Mungu wao atawatunza, naye atawarudishia wafungwa wao.
8 The Commander of the armies of angels, the God to whom [we] Israeli people [belong], says [this]: “I have heard the people of Moab and Ammon when they insulted [DOU] my people, and when they said that they would conquer my people’s country.
“Nimeyasikia matukano ya Moabu nazo dhihaka za Waamoni, ambao waliwatukana watu wangu na kutoa vitisho dhidi ya nchi yao.
9 So now, [as surely] as I live, [I will destroy] Moab and Ammon like [SIM] [I destroyed] Gomorrah [city]. Their land will be a place were there are nettles and salt pits; it will be ruined forever. My Israeli people who survive will take away all their valuable possessions and [also] occupy their land.”
Hakika, kama niishivyo,” asema Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, Mungu wa Israeli, “hakika Moabu itakuwa kama Sodoma, Waamoni kama Gomora: mahali pa magugu na mashimo ya chumvi, nchi ya ukiwa milele. Mabaki ya watu wangu watawateka nyara; mabaki ya taifa langu watarithi nchi yao.”
10 The people of Moab and Ammon will get what they deserve for being proud, because they made fun of the people who belong to the Commander of the armies of angels.
Hiki ndicho watarudishiwa kwa ajili ya kiburi chao, kwa kutukana na kudhihaki watu wa Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote.
11 Yahweh will cause them to be terrified [when] he destroys all the gods of their countries. Then [even the people who live on] islands throughout the world will worship Yahweh, each in their own countries.
Bwana atakuwa wa kuhofisha kwao atakapoangamiza miungu yote ya nchi. Mataifa katika kila pwani yatamwabudu, kila moja katika nchi yake.
12 [Yahweh says that] he will also slaughter the people of Ethiopia.
“Ninyi pia, ee Wakushi, mtauawa kwa upanga wangu.”
13 Yahweh will punish [IDM] and destroy Assyria, [that land] northeast of us. He will cause [its capital] Nineveh to become ruined and deserted, a place that will be as dry as the desert.
Mungu atanyoosha mkono wake dhidi ya kaskazini na kuangamiza Waashuru, akiiacha Ninawi ukiwa na pakame kama jangwa.
14 [Flocks of sheep and] herds [of cattle] and many kinds of wild animals will lie down there. Owls and crows will sit on the columns/pillars [of the destroyed buildings], and they will (hoot/cry out) through the windows. There will be rubble in the doorways, and the [valuable] cedar boards will be taken [from the ruined houses].
Makundi ya kondoo na ngʼombe yatajilaza pale, viumbe vya kila aina. Bundi wa jangwani na bundi waliao kwa sauti nyembamba wataishi juu ya nguzo zake. Mwangwi wa kuita kwao utapita madirishani, kifusi kitakuwa milangoni, boriti za mierezi zitaachwa wazi.
15 [The people of] Nineveh were [previously] happy and proud, thinking that they were very safe. They were [always] saying, “Our city is the greatest city; there is no city as great as ours!” But now it will become a ruins, a place where wild animals make their dens. And everyone who passes by there will hiss [and scorn/ridicule that city], and shake their fists [to show that they detest that city very much].
Huu ndio mji uliotukuka na kuishi kwa furaha wakijisikia salama. Ulisema moyoni mwako, “Mimi ndimi, na wala hapana mwingine ila mimi.” Jinsi gani umekuwa gofu, mahali pa kulala wanyama pori! Wote wanaopita kando yake wanauzomea na kutikisa mkono kwa dharau.
