Amosi 8
1 Hili ndilo alilonionyesha Bwana Mwenyezi katika maono: kikapu cha matunda yaliyoiva.
The Lord Jehovah showed me this vision: Behold a basket of ripe fruits!
2 Akaniuliza, “Amosi, unaona nini?” Nikajibu, “Kikapu chenye matunda yaliyoiva.” Ndipo Bwana akaniambia, “Wakati umewadia kwa watu wangu Israeli; sitawahurumia zaidi.”
And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of ripe fruits. Then said Jehovah to me, The destruction of my people Israel is ripe; I will not spare them any more.
3 Bwana Mwenyezi asema, “Katika siku ile, nyimbo katika Hekalu zitageuka kuwa maombolezo. Miili mingi, mingi sana: itatupwa kila mahali! Kimya!”
The songs of the palace shall be shrieks in that day, Saith the Lord Jehovah. There shall be many dead bodies in every place, And they shall be cast forth in silence.
4 Lisikieni hili, ninyi ambao mnawagandamiza wahitaji, na kuwaonea maskini wa nchi,
Hear this, ye that pant to oppress the needy, And to destroy the poor of the land.
5 mkisema, “Ni lini Mwezi Mwandamo utakapopita ili tupate kuuza nafaka, na Sabato itakwisha lini ili tuweze kuuza ngano?” Mkipunguza vipimo, na kuongeza bei, na kudanganya kwa mizani zisizo sawa,
That say, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn, And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, Making the ephah small, and the shekel heavy, And falsifying the balances for deceit,
6 mkiwanunua maskini kwa fedha, na wahitaji kwa jozi ya viatu, na mkiuza hata takataka za ngano pamoja na ngano.
That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of shoes, And sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 Bwana ameapa kwake mwenyewe, aliye Kiburi cha Yakobo: “Kamwe sitasahau chochote ambacho wamefanya.
Jehovah hath sworn by the glory of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 “Je, nchi haitatetemeka kwa ajili ya hili, nao wote waishio ndani mwake hawataomboleza? Nchi yote itainuka kama Naili; itapanda na kushuka kama mto wa Misri.
Shall not the land tremble for this, And shall not all that dwell therein mourn? Shall not all of it rise in waves like a river, And be swept from its place, and overflowed, as by the river of Egypt!
9 “Katika siku ile,” asema Bwana Mwenyezi, “Nitalifanya jua litue alasiri na kuifanya dunia iwe giza wakati wa mchana mwangavu.
It shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, That I will cause the sun to go down at noon, And will darken the land in the clear day.
10 Nitageuza sikukuu zenu za kidini kuwa maombolezo, na kuimba kwenu kote kuwe kilio. Nitawafanya ninyi nyote mvae nguo ya gunia na kunyoa nywele zenu. Nitaufanya wakati ule uwe kama wa kuombolezea mwana wa pekee, na mwisho wake kama siku ya uchungu.
I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, And baldness upon all heads. I will fill the land with mourning, as for an only son, And its end shall be as a day of bitter woe.
11 “Siku zinakuja,” asema Bwana Mwenyezi, “wakati nitakapotuma njaa katika nchi yote: si njaa ya chakula wala kiu ya maji, lakini njaa ya kusikia maneno ya Bwana.
Behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord Jehovah, That I will send a famine upon the land; Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the word of Jehovah.
12 Wanaume watayumbayumba kutoka bahari hadi bahari na kutangatanga kutoka kaskazini mpaka mashariki, wakitafuta neno la Bwana, lakini hawatalipata.
And men shall wander from sea to sea, And from the north even to the east shall they run to and fro, To seek an answer from Jehovah, and shall not find it.
13 “Katika siku ile “wasichana wazuri na vijana wanaume wenye nguvu watazimia kwa sababu ya kiu.
In that day shall the fair virgins, and the young men, faint for thirst,
14 Wale waapao kwa aibu ya Samaria, au kusema, ‘Hakika kama miungu yenu iishivyo, ee Dani,’ au ‘Hakika kama mungu wa Beer-Sheba aishivyo’: wataanguka, wala hawatasimama tena.”
Who swear by the sin of Samaria, And say, By the life of thy God, O Dan! And, By the worship of Beersheba! They shall fall, and shall rise no more!
