UMikha 3
1 Ngasengisithi: Ake lizwe, lina zinhloko zakoJakobe, lani zinhloko zendlu yakoIsrayeli. Kakuyisikho okwenu yini ukwazi isahlulelo?
And I say, “Now hear, O heads of Jacob, And you judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment?
2 Elizonda okuhle, lithande okubi, elebula isikhumba lisisusa kubo, lenyama yabo emathanjeni abo;
You who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,
3 futhi elidla inyama yabantu bami, lihlinze isikhumba sabo lisisusa kubo; lephule amathambo abo, liwaqobaqobe njengawembiza, lanjengenyama phakathi kwebhodo.
And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stripped, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread [them] out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a cauldron.”
4 Khona bezakhala eNkosini, kodwa kayiyikubaphendula; njalo izabafihlela ubuso bayo ngalesosikhathi, njengalokho benze izenzo zabo zaba zimbi.
Then they cry to YHWH, And He does not answer them, And hides His face from them at that time, As they have made evil their doings.
5 Itsho njalo iNkosi mayelana labaprofethi abaduhisa abantu bami, abaluma ngamazinyo abo, abamemeza: Ukuthula; kodwa ongabeki lutho emlonyeni wabo, balungisa impi bemelene laye.
Thus said YHWH concerning the prophets Who are causing My people to err, Who are biting with their teeth, And have cried “Peace,” And he who does not give to their mouth, They have sanctified against him war:
6 Ngakho kuzakuba yibusuku kini, lingabi lombono; kube mnyama kini, lingabi lokuvumisa; lelanga lizabatshonela abaprofethi, losuku lube mnyama phezu kwabo.
“Therefore you have a night without vision, And you have darkness without divination, And the sun has gone in on the prophets, And the day has been black over them.
7 Khona ababoni bezayangeka, labavumisi babe lenhloni. Yebo bonke bazambomboza izindebe zangaphezulu; ngoba kungelampendulo kaNkulunkulu.
And the seers have been ashamed, And the diviners have been confounded, And all of them have covered their lip, For there is no answer, O God.”
8 Kodwa isibili mina ngigcwele amandla ngomoya weNkosi, lesahlulelo, lobuqhawe, ukumemezela kuJakobe isiphambeko sakhe, lakuIsrayeli isono sakhe.
And yet I have been full of power by the Spirit of YHWH, And of judgment, and of might, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.
9 Ake lizwe lokhu, lina zinhloko zendlu kaJakobe, lani babusi bendlu kaIsrayeli, elenyanya isahlulelo, lihlanekele konke ukuqonda.
Now hear this, O heads of the house of Jacob, And you judges of the house of Israel, Who are making judgment abominable, And pervert all uprightness.
10 Elakha iZiyoni ngecala legazi, leJerusalema ngobubi.
Building up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 Inhloko zayo zahlulelela isipho, labapristi bayo bafundisela inkokhelo, labaprofethi bayo bavumisela imali; kanti beyame eNkosini, besithi: INkosi kayikho phakathi kwethu yini? Ububi kabuyikusehlela.
Her heads judge for a bribe, And her priests teach for hire, And her prophets divine for silver, And on YHWH they lean, saying, “Is not YHWH in our midst? Evil does not come in on us.”
12 Ngakho ngenxa yenu iZiyoni izalinywa njengensimu, leJerusalema ibe zinqumbi, lentaba yendlu njengezindawo eziphakemeyo zehlathi.
Therefore, for your sake, Zion is plowed a field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mountain of the house [is] for high places of a forest!
