Mwanzo 31
1 Yakobo akawasikia wana wa Labani wakisema, “Yakobo amechukua kila kitu kilichokuwa cha baba yetu naye amepata utajiri huu wote kutokana na vile vilivyokuwa mali ya baba yetu.”
Someone told Jacob that Laban’s sons were complaining and saying, “Jacob has become very rich by taking everything [HYP] that belonged to our father.”
2 Yakobo akatambua kwamba moyo wa Labani kwake haukuwa kama ulivyokuwa mwanzo.
And Jacob noticed that Laban was not acting friendly toward him as he had done before.
3 Ndipo Bwana akamwambia Yakobo, “Rudi katika nchi ya baba zako na kwa watu wako, nami nitakuwa pamoja nawe.”
Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will help you there.”
4 Hivyo Yakobo akatuma ujumbe kwa Raheli na Lea waje machungani yalikokuwa makundi yake.
So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah, telling them to come out to the pastures where his flocks of sheep and goats were.
5 Akawaambia, “Naona moyo wa baba yenu kwangu sivyo kama ulivyokuwa mwanzoni, lakini Mungu wa baba yangu amekuwa pamoja nami.
When they arrived, he said to them, “I see that your father does not act friendly toward me as he did previously. But God, whom my father worshiped, has helped me.
6 Mnajua kwamba nimemtumikia baba yenu kwa nguvu zangu zote,
You two know that I have worked very hard for your father,
7 hata hivyo baba yenu amenidanganya kwa kubadilisha ujira wangu mara kumi. Hata hivyo, Mungu hakumruhusu kunidhuru.
but many times [HYP] he has cheated me by decreasing my wages. But God has not allowed him to harm me.
8 Kama alisema, ‘Wenye madoadoa watakuwa ujira wako,’ basi makundi yote yalizaa wenye madoadoa, kama alisema, ‘Wenye mistari watakuwa ujira wako,’ basi makundi yote yalizaa wenye mistari.
When Laban said, ‘The speckled animals are the ones that I will give you to be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to young ones that were speckled. When he changed and said, ‘The ones that have black and white stripes on them will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to young ones that were striped.
9 Hivyo Mungu amechukua mifugo ya baba yenu na amenipa mimi.
In that way, God has taken away the livestock that belonged to your father and has given them to me.
10 “Wakati fulani majira ya kuzaliana niliota ndoto ambayo niliinua macho na kuona kwamba wale mabeberu waliokuwa wakipanda kundi walikuwa wa mistari, madoadoa na mabakabaka.
“One time, when the animals were mating, I had a dream. In my dream I [looked up and was surprised to] see that some of the male goats that were mating with the female goats had black and white stripes on them, some were speckled, and some were spotted.
11 Malaika wa Mungu akaniambia katika ndoto, ‘Yakobo.’ Nikamjibu, ‘Mimi hapa.’
An angel who was sent by God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ I replied, ‘I am here!’
12 Akasema, ‘Inua macho yako uone wale mabeberu wote wanaopanda kundi wana mistari, madoadoa au mabakabaka, kwa maana nimeona yale yote ambayo Labani amekuwa akikutendea.
He said to me, ‘Look up and you will see that all the male goats that are mating have black and white stripes on them, or are speckled or spotted. This is happening because I have seen all that Laban has done to you.
13 Mimi ndiye Mungu wa Betheli, ulikomiminia ile nguzo mafuta na pale mahali uliponiwekea nadhiri. Sasa ondoka katika nchi hii mara moja urudi katika nchi uliyozaliwa.’”
I am God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you set up a stone to show that the place was holy, and you poured [olive] oil on the stone and made a solemn promise to me. So now leave this land immediately, and return to the land where you were born.’”
14 Ndipo Raheli na Lea wakajibu, “Je bado tu tunalo fungu lolote katika urithi wa nyumba ya baba yetu?
Rachel and Leah replied, “Our father will not give us anything more when he dies [RHQ].
15 Je, yeye hatuhesabu sisi kama wageni? Sio kwamba ametuuza tu, bali ametumia hata na vile vilivyolipwa kwa ajili yetu.
He treats us as though we were foreigners [RHQ]! [Your working for him all these years was like a payment] that you gave him as a price for us, but we will not inherit any of that money that he got as a price for us. He has spent it all!
16 Hakika utajiri wote ambao Mungu ameuchukua kutoka kwa baba yetu ni mali yetu na watoto wetu. Hivyo fanya lolote lile Mungu alilokuambia.”
Surely all of the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you to do!”
17 Ndipo Yakobo akawapandisha watoto wake na wake zake juu ya ngamia,
Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.
18 naye akawaswaga wanyama wote mbele yake pamoja na vitu vyote alivyokuwa amechuma huko Padan-Aramu kwenda kwa baba yake Isaki katika nchi ya Kanaani.
He made all his livestock go ahead of him. Besides the livestock, he took along all the other things that he had acquired while living in Paddan-Aram. And they prepared to return to his father Isaac, in the Canaan region.
19 Labani alipokuwa amekwenda kukata kondoo wake manyoya, Raheli aliiba miungu ya nyumba ya baba yake.
Before they left, while Laban was shearing his sheep, Rachel stole the [small wooden] idols [that were in her father’s tent].
20 Zaidi ya hayo, Yakobo alimdanganya Labani Mwaramu kwa kutokumwambia kwamba anakimbia.
Furthermore, Jacob deceived Laban, who belonged to the Aram people-group, by not telling him that they were planning to leave.
21 Hivyo akakimbia pamoja na vitu vyote alivyokuwa navyo na kuvuka Mto Frati akaelekea nchi ya vilima katika Gileadi.
So Jacob and his family fled with all their possessions, and they crossed the Euphrates River, and then started traveling south toward the hilly Gilead region.
22 Siku ya tatu Labani akaambiwa kwamba Yakobo amekimbia.
On the third day after they left, someone told Laban that Jacob and his family had left.
23 Akiwachukua jamaa zake, akamfuatia Yakobo kwa siku saba na kumkuta kwenye nchi ya vilima katika Gileadi.
So he took some of his relatives with him and started to pursue Jacob. They continued walking for seven days.
24 Ndipo Mungu akamjia Labani Mwaramu katika ndoto usiku na kumwambia, “Jihadhari usiseme neno lolote kwa Yakobo, liwe zuri au baya.”
Then God appeared to Laban in a dream at night, and said to him, “When you catch up to Jacob, be sure that you do not say anything at all [HYP] to him in an angry manner!”
25 Yakobo alikuwa amepiga hema lake katika nchi ya vilima katika Gileadi wakati Labani alipomkuta, Labani na jamaa yake wakapiga kambi huko pia.
The next day, by the time Laban caught up with Jacob, Jacob and his household had set up their tents in the hilly Gilead region. So Laban and his relatives set up their tents there, too.
26 Ndipo Labani akamwambia Yakobo, “Umefanya nini? Umenidanganya na umewachukua binti zangu kama mateka katika vita.
Then Laban went to Jacob and said to him, “Why have you done this? You have deceived me by carrying away my daughters as though you had captured them in a war [MTY]!
27 Kwa nini ulikimbia kwa siri na kunidanganya? Kwa nini hukuniambia ili nikuage kwa furaha na nyimbo za matari na vinubi?
Why did you run away and deceive me? Why did you not tell me that you were going to leave, so that we could have rejoiced and sung while people played music on tambourines and harps before I said ‘goodbye’ to you?
28 Hata hukuniruhusu niwabusu wajukuu zangu na kuwaaga binti zangu. Umefanya kitu cha kipumbavu.
(You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye before they left!/Why did you not allow me to kiss my grandchildren and daughters goodbye before they left?) [RHQ] What you have done was foolish!
29 Nina uwezo wa kukudhuru, lakini usiku uliopita Mungu wa baba yako alisema nami, akaniambia, ‘Jihadhari, usiseme neno lolote kwa Yakobo liwe zuri au baya.’
My relatives and I have the power to harm you, but last night the God whom your father worships said to me in a dream, ‘Be sure that you do not say anything at all to Jacob in an angry way.’
30 Sasa umeondoka kwa sababu umetamani kurudi nyumbani kwa baba yako. Lakini kwa nini umeiba miungu yangu?”
Now, I know you have left because you long to go back home. But why did you steal my [wooden] idols?”
31 Yakobo akamjibu Labani, “Niliogopa, kwa sababu nilifikiri ungeweza kuninyangʼanya binti zako kwa nguvu.
Jacob replied to Laban, saying, “I did not tell you that we were planning to leave, because I was afraid. I thought that [if I told you], you would forcefully take your daughters away from me.
32 Lakini kama ukimkuta yeyote aliye na miungu yako, hataishi. Mbele ya jamaa yetu, angalia mwenyewe uone kama kuna chochote chako hapa nilicho nacho, kama kipo, kichukue.” Basi Yakobo hakujua kwamba Raheli alikuwa ameiba hiyo miungu.
But if you find anyone here who has your wooden idols, we will execute that person. While our relatives are watching, search for yourself to see if there is anything that belongs to you that is here with me. If you find anything, you can take it!” When Jacob said that, he did not know that Rachel had stolen the wooden idols.
33 Kwa hiyo Labani akaingia ndani ya hema la Yakobo na ndani ya hema la Lea na ndani ya hema la watumishi wawili wa kike, lakini hakukuta chochote. Baadaye alipotoka katika hema la Lea, akaingia hema la Raheli.
Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and then into Leah’s tent, and then into the tents of the two female slaves and searched for the idols, but he did not find them. After he left their tents, he entered Rachel’s tent.
34 Basi Raheli ndiye alikuwa amechukua ile miungu ya nyumbani kwao na kuiweka katika matandiko ya ngamia na kukalia. Labani akatafuta kila mahali kwenye hema lakini hakupata chochote.
But Rachel had previously taken the idols and put them in the saddle of a camel, and she was sitting on the saddle. So when Laban searched all over for them inside Rachel’s tent, he did not find them.
35 Raheli akamwambia baba yake, “Usikasirike, bwana wangu kwa kuwa siwezi kusimama ukiwepo, niko katika hedhi.” Labani akatafuta lakini hakuweza kuipata miungu ya nyumbani kwake.
Rachel said to her father, “Do not be angry with me, sir, but I cannot get up in your presence [to show respect for you], because I am having my monthly menstrual period. [EUP]” So when Laban searched some more, he did not find the [wooden] idols.
36 Yakobo akakasirika na kumshutumu Labani, akisema, “Uhalifu wangu ni nini?” Akamuuliza Labani, “Ni dhambi gani niliyofanya hata unaniwinda?
Then Jacob became angry. He rebuked Laban, saying, “What crime did I commit? For what sin that I committed have you pursued me?
37 Sasa kwa kuwa umepekua vitu vyangu vyote umepata nini kilicho cha nyumbani mwako? Kiweke hapa mbele ya jamaa yako na yangu, nao waamue kati yetu sisi wawili.
Now you have searched through all my possessions, and what did you find from all these possessions that belongs to you? Put it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they can decide who is right, you or me!
38 “Mpaka sasa nimekuwa pamoja nawe miaka ishirini. Kondoo wako na mbuzi wako hawajaharibu mimba, wala sijala kondoo dume kutoka makundi yako.
I was with you for 20 years. In all that time, your sheep and goats have (not miscarried/always given birth to animals safely). I have not [killed and] eaten any rams from your flocks.
39 Sikukuletea mfugo aliyeraruliwa na wanyama pori, nilibeba hasara mimi mwenyewe. Tena ulinidai malipo kwa chochote kilichoibwa mchana au usiku.
When one of your animals was attacked and mauled/killed by a wild animal, I did not bring it to you. I replaced the dead animal with a living one of my own animals. Whenever one of your animals was stolen, during the day or during the night, you demanded that I replace it with one of my own animals.
40 Hii ndiyo iliyokuwa hali yangu: Niliumia kwa joto la mchana na baridi usiku, pia usingizi ulinipa.
I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was often not even able to sleep [PRS]!
41 Ilikuwa hivi kwa miaka ile ishirini niliyokuwa nyumbani kwako. Nilikutumikia miaka ile kumi na minne kwa ajili ya binti zako wawili, miaka sita kwa ajili ya makundi yako, nawe ulibadilisha ujira wangu mara kumi.
I lived in your household for 20 years. I worked for you for 14 years to buy your two daughters, and for six more years to buy some of your sheep and goats. During that time, you changed and reduced my wages many times [HYP].
42 Kama Mungu wa baba yangu, Mungu wa Abrahamu na Hofu ya Isaki, hakuwa pamoja nami, hakika ungenifukuza mikono mitupu. Lakini Mungu ameona taabu yangu na kazi ngumu ya mikono yangu, naye usiku uliopita amekukemea.”
If God, the one whom my grandfather Abraham worshiped and before whom my father Isaac trembled in fear, had not been with me and helped me, you would have sent me away (with nothing in my hands/owning nothing)! But God saw how much I was suffering and how hard I was working, so last night he told you that what you have done to me was wrong.”
43 Labani akamjibu Yakobo, “Wanawake hawa ni binti zangu, watoto hawa ni watoto wangu na makundi haya ni makundi yangu. Vyote unavyoviona ni vyangu. Lakini hata hivyo ninaweza kufanya nini kuhusu hawa binti zangu, au kuhusu watoto waliowazaa?
Laban replied, “These two women are my daughters, and their children are my grandchildren, and the animals are my animals. Everything you see here is mine [HYP]! But what can I do today to keep my daughters or the children they have given birth to [RHQ]?
44 Njoo sasa na tufanye agano, wewe na mimi, na liwe kama shahidi kati yetu.”
I cannot do anything in order to keep them, so hey, we should make a peace agreement, you and I, and do something that will remind us about our agreement.”
45 Hivyo Yakobo akachukua jiwe, akalisimamisha kama nguzo.
So Jacob took a [large] stone and set it on its end.
46 Akawaambia jamaa yake, “Kusanyeni mawe.” Hivyo wakachukua mawe na kuyakusanya yakawa lundo, wakala chakula hapo karibu na hilo lundo.
Then Jacob said to his relatives, “You also gather some stones.” So they gathered some rocks and put them in a heap, and they ate some food there near the heap.
47 Labani akaliita Yegar-Sahadutha na Yakobo akaliita Galeedi.
Laban gave the heap the Aramaic name Jegar-Sahadutha, [which means ‘rock-pile to remind us’, ] but Jacob gave the rock-pile the Hebrew name Galeed, [which has the same meaning].
48 Labani akasema, “Lundo hili ni shahidi kati yako na mimi leo.” Ndiyo maana likaitwa Galeedi.
Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks we have put here today will help us to remember our agreement.” That is why Jacob called it Galeed.
49 Pia liliitwa Mispa, kwa sababu alisema, “Bwana na aweke ulinzi kati yako na mimi wakati kila mmoja akiwa mbali na mwingine.
They also named the place Mizpah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘watchtower’, ] because Laban said, “We will ask Yahweh to watch you and me while we are separated from each other, [so that we do not try to harm each other].
50 Kama ukiwatenda mabaya binti zangu au ukioa wake wengine zaidi ya binti zangu, hata ingawa hakuna hata mmoja aliye pamoja nasi, kumbuka kwamba Mungu ni shahidi kati yako na mimi.”
If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take other women to be your wives, even if no one tells me about it, don’t forget that God sees what you and I are doing!”
51 Pia Labani akamwambia Yakobo, “Hili ndilo lundo, na hii ndiyo nguzo niliyoisimamisha kati yako na mimi.
Laban also said to Jacob, “You see this large stone and this pile of rocks that we have set up to be between us.
52 Lundo hili ni shahidi na nguzo hii ni shahidi, kwamba sitavuka lundo hili kuja upande wako kukudhuru, nawe kwamba hutavuka lundo hili na nguzo hii kuja upande wangu kunidhuru.
Both this pile of rocks and this large stone will remind us, that I will not go past these rocks to harm you, and you will not go past these rocks to harm me.
53 Mungu wa Abrahamu na Mungu wa Nahori, Mungu wa baba zao, aamue kati yetu.” Hivyo Yakobo akaapa kwa jina la Hofu ya baba yake Isaki.
We will ask the God whom [your grandfather] Abraham and [his father] Nahor worshiped to punish [MTY] either one of us, [if we harm the other one].” So Jacob solemnly promised to do what they said in their peace agreement. And he asked God, the one before whom his father Isaac trembled, to listen to what they promised.
54 Yakobo akatoa dhabihu juu ya kilima na akawaalika jamaa zake kula chakula. Baada ya kula, wakalala huko.
He offered a sacrifice to God there in the hilly area, and he invited his relatives to eat with him. After they had eaten, they slept there that night.
55 Kesho yake asubuhi na mapema, Labani akawabusu wajukuu zake, binti zake na kuwabariki. Kisha akaondoka, akarudi nyumbani.
The next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters [goodbye] and asked God to bless them. Then he [and his men] left them and returned home.
