Yeremia 10
1 Sikieni lile ambalo Bwana, anena nanyi ee nyumba ya Israeli.
You people of Israel, listen to what Yahweh says:
2 Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Usijifunze njia za mataifa wala usitishwe na ishara katika anga, ingawa mataifa yanatishwa nazo.
“Do not act like the people of [other] nations act, and do not be terrified by strange/unusual things that you see in the sky, even though they cause the [people of other] nations to be terrified.
3 Kwa maana desturi za mataifa hazina maana, wanakata mti msituni, na fundi anauchonga kwa patasi.
The customs of the people [of other nations] are worthless. [For example], they cut down a tree in the forest. Then a [skilled] worker/craftsman [cuts a section of it and] uses his chisel to carve an idol from that section.
4 Wanaparemba kwa fedha na dhahabu, wanakikaza kwa nyundo na misumari ili kisitikisike.
[Then] people decorate the idol with silver and gold. [Then] they fasten it securely with nails in order that it will not topple/fall over.
5 Sanamu zao ni kama sanamu iliyowekwa shambani la matango kutishia ndege nazo haziwezi kuongea; sharti zibebwe sababu haziwezi kutembea. Usiziogope; haziwezi kudhuru, wala kutenda lolote jema.”
[Then] the idol [stands there] like [SIM] a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers/melons! It cannot speak, and people must carry it, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of idols, because they cannot harm [anyone], and they cannot do [anything] good [to help anyone].”
6 Hakuna aliye kama wewe, Ee Bwana; wewe ni mkuu, jina lako ni lenye nguvu katika uweza.
Yahweh, there is no one like you. You [MTY] are great, and you are very powerful.
7 Ni nani ambaye haimpasi kukuheshimu wewe, Ee Mfalme wa mataifa? Hii ni stahili yako. Miongoni mwa watu wote wenye hekima katika mataifa na katika falme zao zote, hakuna aliye kama wewe.
You are the king of all the nations! Everyone should [RHQ] revere you, because that is what you deserve. Among all the wise people on the earth and in all the kingdoms where they live, (there is no one like you./who can compare with you?)
8 Wote hawana akili, tena ni wapumbavu, wanafundishwa na sanamu za miti zisizofaa lolote.
Those people who [think that they are] very wise [IRO] are stupid and foolish [DOU]. The idols that they worship are only made of wood! Those idols certainly cannot teach them anything.
9 Huleta fedha iliyofuliwa kutoka Tarshishi na dhahabu kutoka Ufazi. Kile ambacho fundi na sonara wametengeneza huvikwa mavazi ya rangi ya samawi na urujuani: vyote vikiwa vimetengenezwa na mafundi stadi.
People hammer into thin sheets silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and then they give those sheets of silver and gold to skilled workers/craftsmen to cover the idols. Then they put on those idols expensive purple robes that are made by skilled workers.
10 Lakini Bwana ni Mungu wa kweli, yeye ndiye Mungu aliye hai, Mfalme wa milele. Anapokasirika, dunia hutetemeka, mataifa hayawezi kustahimili hasira yake.
But Yahweh is the [only] true God; he is the all-powerful God, the king [who rules] forever. When he is angry, [all] the earth shakes/quakes; and [the people of] the nations cannot endure [what he does] when he is angry [with them].
11 “Waambie hivi: ‘Miungu hii, ambayo haikuumba mbingu na dunia, itaangamia kutoka dunia na kutoka chini ya mbingu.’”
[You Israeli people], tell this to those people: “Those idols did not make the sky and the earth, and they will disappear from the earth.”
12 Lakini Mungu aliiumba dunia kwa uweza wake, akaweka misingi ya ulimwengu kwa hekima yake, na akazitandaza mbingu kwa ufahamu wake.
But [Yahweh] made the earth by his power; he established it [firmly] by his wisdom and stretched out the sky by his understanding.
13 Atoapo sauti yake, maji yaliyo katika mbingu hunguruma; huyafanya mawingu yainuke kutoka miisho ya dunia. Hupeleka umeme wa radi pamoja na mvua, naye huuleta upepo kutoka ghala zake.
When he speaks [loudly], there is thunder in the sky; he causes clouds to form over every part of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and releases the winds from his storehouses.
14 Kila mmoja ni mjinga na hana maarifa, kila sonara ameaibishwa na sanamu zake. Vinyago vyake ni vya udanganyifu, havina pumzi ndani yavyo.
People are senseless and know very little [HYP]; those who make idols are always disappointed because their idols do nothing for them. The images/statues that they make are not real [gods]; they are lifeless.
15 Havifai kitu, ni vitu vya kufanyia mzaha tu, hukumu yavyo itakapowadia, vitaangamia.
Idols are worthless; they deserve to be ridiculed; there will be a time when they [all] will be destroyed.
16 Yeye aliye Fungu la Yakobo sivyo alivyo, kwani ndiye Muumba wa vitu vyote, pamoja na Israeli, kabila la urithi wake: Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ndilo jina lake.
But the God whom we Israelis worship is not like those idols; he is the one who created everything [that exists]; we, the tribe/people of Israel, belong to him; he is the Commander of the armies of angels.
17 Kusanyeni mali na vitu vyenu mwondoke nchi hii, enyi mnaoishi katika hali ya kuzingirwa na jeshi.
[Yahweh says this to the people of Jerusalem]: “The army of your enemies surrounds your city, so gather up your possessions [and prepare] to leave the city.
18 Kwa kuwa hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Wakati huu, nitawatupa nje kwa nguvu wote waishio katika nchi hii; nitawataabisha ili waweze kutekwa.”
I will soon throw you out of this land and cause you to experience great troubles, with the result that you will have severe pain (OR, none of you will be left here).”
19 Ole wangu mimi kwa ajili ya kuumia kwangu! Jeraha langu ni kubwa! Lakini nilisema, “Kweli hii ni adhabu yangu, nami sharti niistahimili.”
[The people replied, “It is as though] we have been [badly] wounded, and we are very grieved; [It is as though] we have a very serious illness, and we must endure the pain.
20 Hema langu limeangamizwa; kamba zake zote zimekatwa. Wana wangu wametekwa na hawapo tena; hakuna hata mmoja aliyebaki wa kusimamisha hema langu wala wa kusimamisha kibanda changu.
[It is as though] our [great] tent is destroyed; the ropes [that held it up] have been cut; our children have gone away from us and will not return; there are no people left to rebuild our great tent.
21 Wachungaji hawana akili wala hawamuulizi Bwana, hivyo hawastawi na kundi lao lote la kondoo limetawanyika.
Our leaders [MET] no [longer] have any sense; they no [longer] ask Yahweh [to (guide them/tell them what to do)], so they will no [longer] prosper, and all those over whom they rule [MET] will be scattered.
22 Sikilizeni! Taarifa inakuja: ghasia kubwa kutoka nchi ya kaskazini! Hii itafanya miji ya Yuda ukiwa, makao ya mbweha.
Listen! [Our enemies’ armies] in the north are making a [very] big noise/commotion [as they march toward us]. The towns in Judah will be destroyed, [and they will become] a place where jackals/wolves live.”
23 Ninajua, Ee Bwana, kwamba maisha ya mwanadamu si yake mwenyewe; hawezi kuziongoza hatua zake mwenyewe.
Yahweh, I know that no person controls what will happen to him; no one is able to direct the events that he will experience.
24 Unirudi, Ee Bwana, lakini kwa kipimo cha haki: si katika hasira yako, usije ukaniangamiza.
[So] correct/discipline us, but do it gently. Do not correct/punish us when you are angry, because we would die if you did that.
25 Umwage ghadhabu yako juu ya mataifa wasiokujua wewe, juu ya mataifa wasioliitia jina lako. Kwa kuwa wamemwangamiza Yakobo; wamemwangamiza kabisa na kuiharibu nchi yake.
Punish [MTY] [all] the nations whose people do not acknowledge/say that you are God; punish all the nations whose people do not worship you, because they are completely destroying [DOU] [us people of] Israel and they are causing our land to soon be only a desert.
