UJeremiya 27
1 Ekuqaleni kokubusa kukaJehoyakhimi indodana kaJosiya, inkosi yakoJuda, kwafika lelilizwi kuJeremiya livela eNkosini, lisithi:
Soon after Zedekiah became the King of Judah, Yahweh gave a message to me.
2 Itsho njalo iNkosi kimi: Zenzele imichilo lamajogwe, ukugaxe entanyeni yakho,
This is what he said to me: “Make a (yoke/set of wooden bars to fasten around the neck of an ox), but fasten it around your own neck with leather straps.
3 ukuthumele enkosini yeEdoma lenkosini yakoMowabi lenkosini yabantwana bakoAmoni lenkosini yeTire lenkosini yeSidoni, ngesandla sezithunywa ezifika eJerusalema kuZedekhiya inkosi yakoJuda;
[Then] send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, by telling those messages to the ambassadors from those countries who have come to Jerusalem to [talk to] King Zedekiah.
4 uzilaye ukuthi zithi emakhosini azo: Itsho njalo Nkosi yamabandla, uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli: Lizakutsho njalo emakhosini enu:
Tell them to give this message to their kings: This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people worship, ]:
5 Mina ngenze umhlaba, umuntu, lenyamazana, okuphezu kobuso bomhlaba, ngamandla ami amakhulu langengalo yami eyeluliweyo, ngiwunike lowo okuqondileyo emehlweni ami.
‘With my very great power [MTY, DOU] I created the earth and the people and the animals that are on the earth. And I can give my power to anyone whom I want to.
6 Khathesi mina sengiwanikele wonke lamazwe esandleni sikaNebhukadinezari inkosi yeBhabhiloni inceku yami; njalo ngimnikile lenyamazana zeganga ukuthi zimsebenzele.
And now I am going to enable King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who does what I want him to do, to control your countries. I am going to enable him to rule everything, even the wild animals.
7 Lezizwe zonke zizasebenzela yena, lendodana yakhe, lendodana yendodana yakhe, kuze kufike isikhathi selakhe ilizwe uqobo; khona izizwe ezinengi lamakhosi amakhulu bezamkhonzisa.
[The people of] all the nations will work for him, and [later] for his son, and [later] for his grandson, until the time for them [to rule] is finished. Then [the armies of] many great kings from many nations will conquer Babylon.’
8 Kuzakuthi-ke isizwe lombuso okungayikumsebenzela yena, uNebhukadinezari inkosi yeBhabhiloni, lokungayikubeka intamo yakho ngaphansi kwejogwe lenkosi yeBhabhiloni, lesosizwe ngizasijezisa, itsho iNkosi, ngenkemba langendlala langomatshayabhuqe wesifo, ngize ngikuqede ngesandla sakhe.
But now I tell you that you must [do what the king of Babylon wants you to do] [MET], [like an ox that has] a yoke on its neck [must do what its master wants it to do]. I will punish any nation that refuses to do that. I will cause those people to experience war and famine and diseases, until [the armies of] Babylon have conquered that nation.
9 Lina-ke lingabalaleli abaprofethi benu labavumisi benu labaphuphi benu labachasisi bemibono benu labalumbi benu abakhuluma kini besithi: Kaliyikuyisebenzela inkosi yeBhabhiloni.
So, do not pay attention to your [false] prophets and fortune-tellers and people who predict what will happen by working magic or by talking with spirits of dead people. Those people say that the king of Babylon will not conquer your country.
10 Ngoba baprofetha amanga kini, ukuze balisuse liye khatshana lelizwe lakini, lokuze ngilixotshe liphume, libhubhe.
Those people are [all] liars. [If you believe what they say, ] it will result in your being exiled from your land. I will cause you to be taken from your land, and you will die far away.
11 Kodwa isizwe esizangenisa intamo yaso ngaphansi kwejogwe lenkosi yeBhabhiloni, siyisebenzele, ngizasiyekela elizweni laso, itsho iNkosi, ukuthi silisebenze, sihlale kulo.
But the people of any country who do what the King of Babylon wants them to do will remain in their own country and be able to plant their crops [MTY] [as they always have done. That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”
12 Ngakhuluma lakuZedekhiya inkosi yakoJuda njengokwalawomazwi wonke ngathi: Ngenisani intamo zenu ngaphansi kwejogwe lenkosi yeBhabhiloni, lisebenzele yona labantu bayo, liphile.
[After I gave that message to those ambassadors, ] I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. [I said to him, ] “If you want to remain alive, do what the King of Babylon and his officials want you to do [MET].
13 Lizafelani, wena labantu bakho, ngenkemba, ngendlala, langomatshayabhuqe wesifo, njengokutsho kweNkosi mayelana lesizwe esingayikuyisebenzela inkosi yeBhabhiloni?
[It would be foolish for you not to do that, because the result would be that] you and your people would die by [your enemies’] swords or by famine or diseases, which Yahweh will cause any nation to experience that refuses to allow the King of Babylon to rule them.
14 Ngakho lingawalaleli amazwi abaprofethi abakhuluma kini besithi: Kaliyikuyisebenzela inkosi yeBhabhiloni; ngoba baprofetha amanga kini.
Do not pay attention to those prophets who say to you, ‘The King of Babylon will not conquer your country.’ They are liars.
15 Ngoba kangibathumanga, itsho iNkosi, kodwa baprofetha amanga ngebizo lami, ukuze ngilixotshe, libhubhe, lina labaprofethi abaprofetha kini.
[This is what] Yahweh says: ‘I have not appointed those prophets. They are saying that I [MTY] gave them messages, but they are lying. So, [if you believe them, ] I will expel you from this land. And you and all those prophets will die [in Babylon]!’”
16 Ngasengikhuluma kubapristi lakulababantu bonke, ngisithi: Itsho njalo INkosi: Lingawalaleli amazwi abaprofethi benu abaprofetha kini besithi: Khangelani, izitsha zendlu yeNkosi zizabuyiswa khathesi masinyane zivela eBhabhiloni; ngoba baprofetha amanga kini.
Then I spoke to the priests and the other people, and I said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Do not believe your prophets who tell you that all the gold items [that were taken] from my temple [by soldiers from Babylon] will soon be returned from Babylon, because what they are prophesying is a lie.
17 Lingabalaleli; sebenzelani inkosi yeBhabhiloni, liphile. Kungani umuzi lo ube lunxiwa?
Do not pay attention to what they say. Surrender to the king of Babylon. If you do that, you will remain alive. [If you do not do that] [RHQ], this entire city will be destroyed.
18 Kodwa uba bengabaprofethi, njalo uba ilizwi leNkosi likubo, khathesi kabayincenge iNkosi yamabandla, ukuthi izitsha eziseleyo endlini yeNkosi lendlini yenkosi yakoJuda leJerusalema zingayi eBhabhiloni.
If they are really prophets who speak messages from me, tell them to plead to me, the Commander of the armies of angels, that [the soldiers from Babylon] will not be allowed to take away to Babylon the valuable items that [still] remain in the temple and in the king’s palace and in [the other palaces in] Jerusalem.
19 Ngoba itsho njalo iNkosi yamabandla mayelana lezinsika, langolwandle, langezisekelo, langensali yezitsha ezisele kulumuzi,
[I say this] because the [huge] pillars [that are in front of the temple] and the large water tank and the [ten water] carts and all the other items that are used [for offering sacrifices are still in this city].
20 uNebhukadinezari inkosi yeBhabhiloni angazithathanga, ekuthumbeni kwakhe uJekoniya indodana kaJehoyakhimi inkosi yakoJuda eJerusalema emusa eBhabhiloni, lazo zonke izikhulu zakoJuda leJerusalema;
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left those things here when he exiled Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the [other] leaders of Jerusalem and [the leaders of other places in] Judah.
21 yebo, itsho njalo iNkosi yamabandla uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli mayelana lezitsha eziseleyo endlini kaJehova lendlini yenkosi yakoJuda leJerusalema:
[I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people worship], say this about all those valuable things that are still outside the temple and in the palace of the king of Judah and in [other places in]:
22 Zizasiwa eBhabhiloni, zibe khona kuze kube lusuku engizakuzihambela ngalo, itsho iNkosi; khona ngizazenyusa, ngizibuyisele kulindawo.
They will [all] be carried away to Babylon. And they will stay there until I say that they should be brought back to Jerusalem. Then they will be bought back here. [That is what I, ] Yahweh, say.’”
