UJeremiya 17
1 “Isono sikaJuda sidwetshwe ngensimbi, sabhalwa ngomcijo wedayimani ezicecedwini zenhliziyo zabo lasempondweni zama-alithare abo.
“The sin of Judah has been written with a pen of iron and a point of diamond. It has been engraved upon the breadth of their heart and upon the horns of their shrines.
2 Labantwababo bayawakhumbula ama-alithare abo lezinsika zika-Ashera phansi kwezihlahla eziluhlaza laphezu kwamaqaqa aphakemeyo.
And their sons make a remembrance of their shrines, and their sacred groves, and their leafy trees on high mountains,
3 Intaba yami eselizweni lenotho yenu kanye lemfuyo yenu yonke ngizakunikela kube yimpango, ndawonye lezindawo zenu eziphakemeyo, ngenxa yokona kulolonke ilizwe lenu.
by sacrificing in the field. And so, I will give over your strength and all your treasures to be despoiled, along with your exalted places of sin, within all your borders.
4 Ngenxa yezici zenu lizalahlekelwa yilifa engalinika lona. Ngizalenza libe yizigqili zezitha zenu elizweni elingalaziyo, ngoba livuse ulaka lwami, njalo luzavutha kuze kube nininini.”
And you will be left behind without your inheritance, which I gave to you. And I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land that you do not know. For you have kindled a fire in my fury; it shall burn, even unto eternity.”
5 UThixo uthi: “Uqalekisiwe lowo othemba umuntu, othembe ukuthi amandla akhe asenyameni, onhliziyo yakhe ihlamukela uThixo.
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is a man who trusts in man, and who establishes what is flesh as his right arm, and whose heart withdraws from the Lord.
6 Uzakuba njengesihlahlanyana enkangala; ukuphumelela kayikukubona ekufikeni kwakho. Uzahlala ezindaweni ezomileyo enkangala, elizweni letswayi elingahlali muntu.
For he will be like a saltcedar tree in the desert. And he will not perceive it, when what is good has arrived. Instead, he will live in dryness, in a desert, in a land of salt, which is uninhabitable.
7 Kodwa ubusisiwe umuntu othemba uThixo, othemba lakhe likuye.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for the Lord will be his confidence.
8 Uzakuba njengesihlahla esihlanyelwe eduze lamanzi esinabisela impande zaso esifuleni. Kasesabi lapho ukutshisa kufika; amahlamvu aso ahlala eluhlaza. Kasikhathazeki ngomnyaka wokoma; kasiphuthi ukuthela izithelo.”
And he will be like a tree planted beside waters, which sends out its roots to moist soil. And it will not fear when the heat arrives. And its leaves will be green. And in the time of drought, it will not be anxious, nor will it cease at any time to bear fruit.
9 Inhliziyo iyakhohlisa okudlula izinto zonke njalo imbi kakhulu. Ngubani ongayizwisisa na?
The heart is depraved above all things, and it is unsearchable, who can know it?
10 “Mina Thixo ngiyayihlola inhliziyo ngihlole lengqondo, ukuba umuntu ngimnike okufanele ukwenza kwakhe mayelana lalokho okufanele izenzo zakhe.”
I am the Lord, who examines the heart and tests the temperament, who gives to each one according to his way and according to the fruit of his own decisions.
11 Umuntu ozuza inotho ngezindlela ezimbi unjengesikhwehle esichamisela amaqanda esingawaqandelanga. Lapho ingxenye yokuphila kwakhe isidlule, izaphela, kuthi ekucineni abonakale eyisithutha.
A partridge has hatched eggs that she did not lay; a man has gathered riches, but without judgment. In the midst of his days, he will leave it all behind, and he will be foolish concerning his very end.”
12 Isihlalo sobukhosi, esikhazimulayo esaphakanyiswayo kusukela ekuqaleni, siyindawo yethu yokuphephela.
“A high and glorious throne is the place of our sanctification from the beginning.
13 Awu Thixo, themba lika-Israyeli, bonke abakudelayo bazayangiswa. Labo abakuhlamukelayo bazabhalwa othulini ngoba bedele uThixo, umthombo wamanzi okuphila.
O Lord, Hope of Israel: all who forsake you will be confounded. Those who withdraw from you will be written into the earth. For they have abandoned the Lord, the Source of living waters.
14 Ngisilisa, Thixo, njalo ngizasiliswa; ungikhulule, ngizakhululeka, ngoba nguwe engimdumisayo.
Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved. For you are my praise.
15 Bahlala besithi kimi, “Lingaphi ilizwi likaThixo na? Kaligcwaliseke khathesi!”
Behold, they themselves are saying to me: ‘Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come.’
16 Angibalekanga ekubeni ngumelusi wenu; liyakwazi ukuthi angilufisanga usuku lokuphela ithemba. Okudlula endebeni zami kusobala kini.
But I am not troubled; I am following you as my shepherd. And I have not desired the day of man, as you know. That which has gone forth from my lips has been right in your sight.
17 Ungabi ngowesabekayo kimi; uyisiphephelo sami ngosuku lokuhlupheka.
May you not be a dread to me. You are my hope in the day of affliction.
18 Abangihluphayo kabayangiswe, kodwa mina ungivikele ehlazweni; kababe lokwesaba, kodwa mina ungivikele ekwesabeni. Balethele usuku lobubi. Ubabhubhise ngokuqothula okuphindiweyo.
May those who persecute me be confounded, but may I not be confounded. May they be fearful, and may I not be fearful. Lead over them the day of affliction, and crush them with a double destruction.”
19 UThixo wathi kimi: “Hamba uyekuma esangweni labantu, amakhosi akoJuda angena ngalo njalo aphume ngalo; ume futhi lakuwo wonke amanye amasango aseJerusalema.
Thus says the Lord to me: “Go, and stand at the gate of the sons of the people, through which the kings of Judah enter and depart, and at all the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Uthi kubo, ‘Zwanini ilizwi likaThixo, lina makhosi akoJuda labo bonke abantu abahlala koJuda kanye labantu bonke abahlala eJerusalema abangena ngala amasango.
And you shall say to them: Listen to the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and all of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter through these gates.”
21 UThixo uthi: Qaphelani lingathwali mthwalo ngosuku lweSabatha loba liwungenise ngamasango aseJerusalema.
Thus says the Lord: “Guard your souls, and do not choose to carry heavy things on the day of the Sabbath, nor should you carry these things through the gates of Jerusalem.
22 Lingaphumisi mthwalo ezindlini zenu kumbe lenze loba yiwuphi umsebenzi ngosuku lweSabatha, kodwa ligcine iSabatha lingcwele, njengokulaya kwami okhokho benu.
And do not be willing to cast burdens out of your houses on the day of the Sabbath, nor should you do any work. Sanctify the day of the Sabbath, just as I instructed your fathers.
23 Kodwa kabalalelanga loba banake; izintamo zabo zazilukhuni njalo kabalalelanga kumbe bamukele ukulaywa.
But they did not listen, nor did they incline their ear. Instead, they hardened their neck, lest they listen to me and receive discipline.
24 UThixo uthi: Kodwa nxa liqaphele ukungilalela, lingangenisi mthwalo ngamasango edolobho leli ngeSabatha, kodwa ligcina usuku lweSabatha lungcwele ngokungenzi msebenzi ngalo,
And this shall be: If you listen to me, says the Lord, so that you do not carry in burdens through the gates of this city on the day of the Sabbath, and if you sanctify the day of the Sabbath, so that you do not do work in it,
25 lapho-ke amakhosi ahlezi esihlalweni sobukhosi sikaDavida azangena lezikhulu zawo ngamasango edolobho leli. Wona lezikhulu zawo bazafika begade izinqola zempi lamabhiza, belabantu bakoJuda lalabo abahlala eJerusalema; bahlale kulo idolobho kuze kube nininini.
then there will enter through the gates of this city: kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David, and riding on chariots and horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited forever.
26 Abantu bazakuza bevela emadolobheni akoJuda lasemizini egqagqele iJerusalema, bevela elizweni lakoBhenjamini lasezintatshaneni zangasentshonalanga, bevela elizweni lamaqaqa laseNegebi, beletha iminikelo yokutshiswa lemihlatshelo, iminikelo yamabele, impepha kanye leminikelo yokubonga endlini kaThixo.
And they will arrive from the cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plains, and from the mountainous regions, and from the south, carrying holocausts, and victims, and sacrifices, and frankincense. And they will carry an oblation into the house of the Lord.
27 Kodwa nxa lingangilaleli ekuthini ligcine usuku lweSabatha lungcwele ngokungathwali mthwalo lapho lingena ngamasango aseJerusalema ngosuku lweSabatha, lapho-ke ngizaphemba umlilo ongacitshekiyo emasangweni eJerusalema ozaqothula izinqaba zalo.’”
But if you will not listen to me, to sanctify the day of the Sabbath, and not to carry burdens, and not to bring these things through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath, then I will kindle a fire at its gates, and it will devour the houses of Jerusalem, and it will not be extinguished.”
