UMikha 3
1 Ngasengisithi: Ake lizwe, lina zinhloko zakoJakobe, lani zinhloko zendlu yakoIsrayeli. Kakuyisikho okwenu yini ukwazi isahlulelo?
I also said: Hear, O ye heads of Jacob, And ye leaders of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to administer justice?
2 Elizonda okuhle, lithande okubi, elebula isikhumba lisisusa kubo, lenyama yabo emathanjeni abo;
But ye hate what is good, and love what is evil; Ye tear from men their skin, Yea, their flesh from their bones;
3 futhi elidla inyama yabantu bami, lihlinze isikhumba sabo lisisusa kubo; lephule amathambo abo, liwaqobaqobe njengawembiza, lanjengenyama phakathi kwebhodo.
Ye devour the flesh of my people, And strip them of their skin, And break their bones, And cut them in pieces, as for the pot, And as flesh for the caldron?
4 Khona bezakhala eNkosini, kodwa kayiyikubaphendula; njalo izabafihlela ubuso bayo ngalesosikhathi, njengalokho benze izenzo zabo zaba zimbi.
Then shall they cry to Jehovah, But he will not hear them; Yea, at that time will he hide his face from them, Because they have done iniquity.
5 Itsho njalo iNkosi mayelana labaprofethi abaduhisa abantu bami, abaluma ngamazinyo abo, abamemeza: Ukuthula; kodwa ongabeki lutho emlonyeni wabo, balungisa impi bemelene laye.
Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets, who deceive my people, Who, while they bite with their teeth, proclaim peace, But who, if one fill not their mouths, prepare war against him:
6 Ngakho kuzakuba yibusuku kini, lingabi lombono; kube mnyama kini, lingabi lokuvumisa; lelanga lizabatshonela abaprofethi, losuku lube mnyama phezu kwabo.
Therefore shall night come upon you, so that ye shall have no vision, And darkness, so that ye shall not divine; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, And the day shall be dark to them.
7 Khona ababoni bezayangeka, labavumisi babe lenhloni. Yebo bonke bazambomboza izindebe zangaphezulu; ngoba kungelampendulo kaNkulunkulu.
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded, So that all of them shall hide their faces, Because there is no answer from God.
8 Kodwa isibili mina ngigcwele amandla ngomoya weNkosi, lesahlulelo, lobuqhawe, ukumemezela kuJakobe isiphambeko sakhe, lakuIsrayeli isono sakhe.
But I am full of power, even of the spirit of Jehovah; Full of uprightness and courage, 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.
O hear this, ye heads of the house of Jacob, And ye leaders of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice, And pervert all equity,
10 Elakha iZiyoni ngecala legazi, leJerusalema ngobubi.
Who build 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 reward, And her priests teach for hire, And her prophets divine for money, And yet they lean upon Jehovah, saying, “Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? No evil can come upon us.”
12 Ngakho ngenxa yenu iZiyoni izalinywa njengensimu, leJerusalema ibe zinqumbi, lentaba yendlu njengezindawo eziphakemeyo zehlathi.
Therefore because of you shall Zion be ploughed as a field, And Jerusalem become heaps of stones, And the mountain of the temple like the heights of a forest.
