< UJeremiya 24 >
1 INkosi yangenza ngibone, khangela-ke, izitsha ezimbili zemikhiwa zibekwe phambi kwethempeli leNkosi, emva kokuthi uNebhukadirezari inkosi yeBhabhiloni esethumbe uJekoniya indodana kaJehoyakhimi, inkosi yakoJuda, leziphathamandla zakoJuda, lababazi, labakhandi, wabasusa eJerusalema, wabasa eBhabhiloni.
Jehovah shewed me, and behold, two baskets of figs, set before the temple of Jehovah, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive from Jerusalem, Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, and the craftsmen and smiths, and had brought them to Babylon.
2 Esinye isitsha sasilemikhiwa emihle kakhulu njengemikhiwa evuthwe kuqala; kodwa esinye isitsha sasilemikhiwa emibi kakhulu, eyayingeke idliwe ngenxa yobubi bayo.
One basket had very good figs, like the figs first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten for badness.
3 INkosi yasisithi kimi: Ubonani, Jeremiya? Ngasengisithi: Imikhiwa, imikhiwa emihle, emihle kakhulu; lemibi, emibi kakhulu, engeke idliwe ngenxa yobubi bayo.
And Jehovah said unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs very good; and the bad very bad, which cannot be eaten for badness.
4 Lafika kimi futhi ilizwi leNkosi lisithi:
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
5 Itsho njalo iNkosi, uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli: Njengalimikhiwa emihle, ngokunjalo ngizananzelela abathunjiweyo bakoJuda, engibaxotshe ngabasusa kulindawo ngabasa elizweni lamaKhaladiya, kube kuhle.
Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard for good them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans;
6 Ngoba ngizabeka ilihlo lami phezu kwabo ngokuhle, ngibabuyisele kulelilizwe; ngibakhe, ngingabadilizi; njalo ngizabahlanyela, ngingabasiphuni.
and I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.
7 Njalo ngizabanika inhliziyo yokuthi bangazi mina, ukuthi ngiyiNkosi; njalo bazakuba ngabantu bami, mina ngibe nguNkulunkulu wabo; ngoba bazabuyela kimi ngenhliziyo yabo yonke.
And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
8 Kodwa njengemikhiwa emibi engeke idliwe ngenxa yobubi bayo, isibili itsho njalo iNkosi: Ngokunjalo ngizanika uZedekhiya, inkosi yakoJuda, leziphathamandla zakhe, lensali yeJerusalema, eseleyo kulelilizwe, lalabo abahlala elizweni leGibhithe,
And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten for badness, surely, thus saith Jehovah: So will I make Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt.
9 ngibanikele babe yinto eyesabekayo, babe yibubi, kuyo yonke imibuso yomhlaba, babe lihlazo, lesaga, inhlekisa, lesiqalekiso, kuzo zonke indawo engizabaxotshela khona.
And I will give them over to be driven hither and thither unto all the kingdoms of the earth for evil, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them;
10 Njalo ngizathumela phakathi kwabo inkemba, indlala, lomatshayabhuqe wesifo, baze baqedwe basuke elizweni engalinika bona laboyise.
and I will send among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.