Amosi 5
1 Sikia neno hili, ee nyumba ya Israeli, ombolezo hili ninalifanya kuwahusu ninyi:
Listen to this word, which I lift over you in lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, and it will no longer rise again.
2 “Bikira Israeli ameanguka, kamwe hatainuka tena, ameachwa pweke katika nchi yake, hakuna yeyote wa kumwinua.”
The virgin of Israel has been thrown onto her land, there is no one who can raise her up.
3 Hili ndilo Bwana Mwenyezi asemalo: “Wakati mmoja wa miji yako utakapopeleka watu elfu moja vitani kwa ajili ya Israeli, mia moja tu watarudi; wakati mji utakapopeleka mia moja, kumi tu ndio watarudi hai.”
For thus says the Lord God: In the city from which a thousand departed, a hundred will remain, and in that from which a hundred departed, ten will remain, in the house of Israel.
4 Hili ndilo Bwana asemalo kwa nyumba ya Israeli: “Nitafuteni mpate kuishi;
For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek me and you will live.
5 msitafute Betheli, msiende Gilgali, msisafiri kwenda Beer-Sheba. Kwa maana kwa hakika Gilgali itakwenda uhamishoni, na Betheli itafanywa kuwa si kitu.”
But do not be willing to seek Bethel, and do not be willing to enter Gilgal, and you will not cross into Beer-sheba. For Gilgal will be led into captivity, and Bethel will be useless.
6 Mtafuteni Bwana mpate kuishi, au atafagia nyumba ya Yosefu kama moto; utawateketeza, nayo Betheli haitakuwa na yeyote wa kuuzima.
Seek the Lord and live. Otherwise, the house of Joseph may be destroyed with fire, and it will devour, and there will be no one who can extinguish Bethel.
7 Ninyi ambao mnageuza haki kuwa uchungu na kuiangusha haki chini
You turn judgment into wormwood, and you abandon justice on earth.
8 (yeye ambaye alifanya Kilimia na Orioni, ambaye hugeuza giza kuwa mapambazuko na mchana kuwa usiku, ambaye huyaita maji ya bahari na kuyamwaga juu ya uso wa nchi: Bwana ndilo jina lake;
The Maker of Arcturus and Orion, who turns darkness into daybreak and who changes day into night; who calls forth the waters of the sea and who pours them out over the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
9 yeye hufanya maangamizo kwenye ngome na kufanya mji uliozungushiwa ngome kuwa ukiwa),
It is he who smiles destruction on the healthy, and who brings pillaging upon the powerful.
10 mnamchukia yule akemeaye mahakamani, na kumdharau yule ambaye husema kweli.
They held hatred for the one who corrects at the gate, and they have abhorred the one who speaks perfectly.
11 Mnamgandamiza maskini na kumlazimisha awape nafaka. Kwa hiyo, ingawa mmejenga majumba ya mawe ya fahari, hamtaishi ndani yake; ingawa mmepanda mashamba mazuri ya mizabibu, hamtakunywa divai yake.
Therefore, on his behalf, because you have torn apart the poor and stolen choice prey from him: you will build houses with square stones and you will not dwell in them; you will plant the most delightful vineyards, and you will not drink wine from them.
12 Kwa kuwa ninajua hesabu ya makosa yenu na ukubwa wa dhambi zenu. Mmewaonea wenye haki na kupokea rushwa na kuzuia haki ya maskini mahakamani.
For I know your many wicked deeds and the strength of your sins, you enemies of the just, accepting bribes, and depriving the poor at the gate.
13 Kwa hiyo mtu mwenye busara hunyamaza kimya nyakati kama hizo, kwa kuwa nyakati ni mbaya.
Therefore, the prudent will be silent at that time, for it is an evil time.
14 Tafuteni mema, wala si mabaya, ili mpate kuishi. Ndipo Bwana Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote atakuwa pamoja nanyi, kama msemavyo yupo nanyi.
Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. And the Lord God of hosts will be with you, just as you have asked.
15 Yachukieni maovu, yapendeni mema; dumisheni haki mahakamani. Yamkini Bwana Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote atawahurumia mabaki ya Yosefu.
Hate evil and love good, and establish judgment at the gate. Perhaps then the Lord God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
16 Kwa hiyo hili ndilo Bwana, Bwana Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote, asemalo: “Kutakuwepo maombolezo katika barabara zote na vilio vya uchungu katika njia kuu zote. Wakulima wataitwa kuja kulia, na waombolezaji waje kuomboleza.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Sovereign: In all the streets, there will be wailing. And in every place where they are outdoors, they will say, “Woe, woe!” And they will call the farmer to mourn, and those who know mourning to lamentation.
17 Kutakuwepo kuomboleza katika mashamba yote ya mizabibu, kwa kuwa nitapita katikati yenu,” asema Bwana.
And in all the vineyards there will be wailing. For I will cross through your midst, says the Lord.
18 Ole wenu ninyi mnaoitamani siku ya Bwana! Kwa nini mnaitamani siku ya Bwana? Siku hiyo itakuwa giza, si nuru.
Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. What is it to you? The day of the Lord is this: darkness and not light.
19 Itakuwa kama vile mtu aliyemkimbia simba kumbe akakutana na dubu, kama vile mtu aliyeingia nyumbani mwake na kuupumzisha mkono wake kwenye ukuta, kumbe akaumwa na nyoka.
It is as if a man flees from the face of a lion, only to have a bear meet him; or, he enters a house and leans with his hand against the wall, only to have a snake bite him.
20 Je, siku ya Bwana haitakuwa giza, na si nuru: giza nene, bila mwonzi wa mwanga?
Will not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “Ninachukia, ninazidharau sikukuu zenu za dini; siwezi kuvumilia makusanyiko yenu.
I hate and have rejected your feasts; and I will not accept the odor from your gatherings.
22 Hata ingawa mnaniletea sadaka zenu za kuteketezwa na sadaka za nafaka, sitazikubali. Ingawa mnaniletea sadaka nzuri za amani, sitazitambua.
For if you offer me holocausts and your gifts, I will not receive them; and I will not look upon the vows of your fatness.
23 Niondoleeni kelele za nyimbo zenu! Sitasikiliza sauti za vinubi vyenu.
Take away from me the tumult of your songs, and I will not listen to the canticles of your lyre.
24 Lakini acheni haki itiririke kama mto, na uadilifu uwe kama kijito kisichokauka!
And judgment will be revealed like water, and justice like a mighty torrent.
25 “Je, mliniletea dhabihu na sadaka kwa miaka arobaini kule jangwani, ee nyumba ya Israeli?
Was it you who offered victims and sacrifices to me in the desert for forty years, house of Israel?
26 Mmeyainua madhabahu ya mfalme wenu, Sikuthi mungu wenu mtawala, na Kiuni mungu wenu wa nyota, ambao mliwatengeneza wenyewe.
And you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch and the image of your idols: the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
27 Kwa sababu hiyo nitawapeleka uhamishoni mbali kupita Dameski,” asema Bwana, ambaye jina lake ni Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote.
And I will cause you to go into captivity across Damascus, says the Lord. The God of hosts is his name.
