Yeremia 2
1 Neno la Bwana lilinijia kusema,
Yahweh gave me another message
2 “Nenda ukahubiri masikioni mwa watu wa Yerusalemu: “‘Nakumbuka moyo wako wa uchaji katika ujana wako, jinsi ulivyonipenda kama bibi arusi na kunifuata katika jangwa lile lote, katika nchi isiyopandwa mbegu.
[to proclaim to everyone in Jerusalem. He said that I should tell them this] [MET]: “I, Yahweh, remember that you very much wanted to please me [long ago]. [You tried to please me like] a bride [tries to please her husband]; You loved me, and you followed me through the desert [DOU].
3 Israeli alikuwa mtakatifu kwa Bwana, kama malimbuko ya kwanza ya mavuno yake; wote waliowaangamiza walihesabiwa kuwa na hatia, nayo maafa yaliwakumba,’” asema Bwana.
[At that time you] Israelis (were set apart/belonged only) to me; [you belonged to me like] the first part of the harvests belong to me [MET]. I promised to punish all those who harmed you, my people, and truly I did send disasters on them. [That happened because I], Yahweh, said [that it would happen].”
4 Sikia neno la Bwana, ee nyumba ya Yakobo, nanyi nyote jamaa za nyumba ya Israeli.
So, you [descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, all you people of [MTY] Israel,
5 Hivi ndivyo asemavyo Bwana: “Je, baba zenu waliona kosa gani kwangu, hata wakatangatanga mbali nami hivyo? Walifuata sanamu zisizofaa, nao wenyewe wakawa hawafai.
listen to what Yahweh says: “(What sin did I commit [RHQ] that caused your ancestors to turn far away from me?/Though your ancestors found no fault in me, they turned far away from me.) They worshiped worthless idols, and they themselves became worthless.
6 Hawakuuliza, ‘Yuko wapi Bwana, aliyetupandisha kutoka Misri na kutuongoza kupitia nyika kame, kupitia nchi ya majangwa na mabonde, nchi ya ukame na giza, nchi ambayo hakuna mtu asafiriye ndani yake wala hakuna mtu aishiye humo?’
They did not say, ‘Yahweh brought us [safely] out of Egypt, and he led us through a desert where there were a lot of pits; he led us where there was no water and where it was very dangerous, through a land where no one lives, and no one even travels. (So where is Yahweh now?/So he should be helping us now!) [RHQ]’
7 Niliwaleta katika nchi yenye wingi wa vitu ili mpate kula matunda yake na utajiri wa mazao yake. Lakini mkaja na kuinajisi nchi yangu, na kuufanya urithi wangu chukizo.
And when I brought you into a very fertile land, in order that you could enjoy [all] the fruit and [other] good things that you would harvest, you caused the land that I promised to give to you to be unfit for me and to become disgusting/detestable to me.
8 Makuhani hawakuuliza, ‘Yuko wapi Bwana?’ Wale wanaoshughulikia sheria hawakunijua mimi; viongozi waliasi dhidi yangu. Manabii walitabiri kwa jina la Baali, wakifuata sanamu zisizofaa.
[Your] priests also did not say, ‘(Where is Yahweh now?/Yahweh should be helping us now!)’ [RHQ] Those who teach/explain my laws do not [want to] know me, and [your] leaders have rebelled against me. [Your] prophets gave you messages from [their god] Baal, and they worship worthless idols.”
9 “Kwa hiyo naleta tena mashtaka dhidi yako,” asema Bwana. “Nami nitaleta mashtaka dhidi ya watoto wa watoto wako.
“So, I will accuse you in court. [In future years], I will say what your children and your grandchildren have done that is wrong. [That will happen because I], Yahweh, have said [that it will happen].
10 Vuka, nenda ngʼambo mpaka pwani ya Kitimu nawe uangalie, tuma watu waende Kedari, wachunguze kwa makini, uone kama kumekuwepo kitu kama hiki.
If you go [west] to the island of Cyprus, or if you go [east] to Kedar [land, ] and if you ask people in those places, they will tell you that no people [from their countries] have ever done the wicked things that you people have done!
11 Je, taifa limebadili miungu yake wakati wowote? (Hata ingawa hao si miungu kamwe.) Lakini watu wangu wamebadili Utukufu wao kwa sanamu zisizofaa kitu.
The people of no other nation have ever [RHQ] abandoned their gods that they thought were glorious and started to worship gods that are not really gods, but you people have abandoned me, your glorious God, and are worshiping gods that are useless.
12 Shangaeni katika hili, ee mbingu, nanyi tetemekeni kwa hofu kuu,” asema Bwana.
[It is as though everything in] the sky is surprised and dismayed/appalled [about what you have done]; [it is as though] they tremble because they are very horrified.
13 “Watu wangu wametenda dhambi mbili: Wameniacha mimi, niliye chemchemi ya maji yaliyo hai, nao wamejichimbia visima vyao wenyewe, visima vilivyobomoka, visivyoweza kuhifadhi maji.
[You], my people, have done two evil things: You have rejected me, the one who is [like] [MET] a fountain [where you can obtain] fresh water, and you [are worshiping gods that are like] [MET] pits in the ground that are cracked and which are not able to hold any water.
14 Je, Israeli ni mtumishi, yaani mtumwa kwa kuzaliwa? Kwa nini basi amekuwa mateka?
You Israeli people, you were certainly not [RHQ] slaves when you were born; you were captured [by your enemies].
15 Simba wamenguruma; wamemngurumia. Wameifanya nchi yake kuwa ukiwa; miji yake imeteketezwa, nayo imeachwa haina watu.
[Your enemies] [MET] roared [like] lions, and they destroyed your land. [Now] your towns have been burned, and no one lives in them.
16 Pia watu wa Memfisi na Tahpanhesi wamevunja taji ya kichwa chako.
Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpenes, [cities in Egypt], have [defeated you] [and] shaved your heads [to show that you are their slaves].
17 Je, hukujiletea hili wewe mwenyewe kwa kumwacha Bwana, Mungu wako alipowaongoza njiani?
But it is [RHQ] because you abandoned [me], Yahweh, that these disasters have happened to you.
18 Sasa kwa nini uende Misri kunywa maji ya Shihori? Nawe kwa nini kwenda Ashuru kunywa maji ya Mto Frati?
So (why are you trying to make an alliance with [MET] the rulers of Egypt?/it certainly will not help you to make an alliance with the rulers of Egypt) [RHQ]. Why are you trying to make an alliance with [MET] the rulers of Assyria who live near the [Euphrates] River?
19 Uovu wako utakuadhibu; kurudi nyuma kwako kutakukemea. Basi kumbuka, utambue jinsi lilivyo ovu na chungu kwako unapomwacha Bwana Mungu wako na kutokuwa na hofu yangu,” asema Bwana, Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote.
[It is because] you have been [very] wicked that I [PRS] will punish you. It is because you have turned away from me that I [PRS] will condemn you. [When I do that], you will realize that painful and evil [DOU] things will happen to you because you have forsaken [me], Yahweh, your God, and you no [longer] revere me. [That will certainly happen because] I, Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels in heaven, have said it.
20 “Zamani nilivunja nira yako na kukatilia mbali vifungo vyako; ukasema, ‘Sitakutumikia!’ Naam kweli, kwenye kila kilima kirefu na chini ya kila mti uliotanda matawi yake ulijilaza kama kahaba.
Long ago, you stopped obeying [me] [MET], and you would not allow [me] to lead you [MET]; you refused to worship [me]. Instead, you worship idols that are under trees on the top of every hill, and your young women have sex with [EUP] [men at those places].
21 Nilikupanda ukiwa mzabibu ulio bora sana, mkamilifu na wa mbegu nzuri. Ilikuwaje basi ukawa kinyume nami, ukaharibika na kuwa mzabibu mwitu?
[It is as though] [MET] you were a grapevine that I planted when it was a cutting from a very good vine. So now it is disgusting that [RHQ] you have become [like] a rotten worthless vine.
22 Hata ujisafishe kwa magadi na kutumia sabuni nyingi, bado doa la hatia yako liko mbele zangu,” asema Bwana Mwenyezi.
Your guilt from your sins is like [MET] very bad stains on a cloth, and you cannot get rid of those stains even by using very strong soap. [This is true because I], Yahweh, have said it.
23 “Wawezaje kusema, ‘Mimi si najisi, sijawafuata Mabaali’? Kumbuka jinsi ulivyotenda kule bondeni; fikiri uliyoyafanya. Wewe ni ngamia jike mwenye mbio ukikimbia hapa na pale,
You say that you have not sinned. You say ‘We have not become unacceptable to God; we have not worshiped Baal.’ But think about [the disgusting things that you do very eagerly] in [Hinnom] Valley [outside Jerusalem]. You are like desperate female camels, running here and there [to find male camels to have sex with].
24 punda-mwitu aliyezoea jangwa, anayenusa upepo katika tamaa yake kubwa: katika wakati wake wa kuhitaji mbegu ni nani awezaye kumzuia? Madume yoyote yanayomfuatilia hayana haja ya kujichosha; wakati wa kupandwa kwake watampata tu.
You are [like] wild female donkeys in the desert. They sniff the air to find where the male donkeys are, and no one can [RHQ] restrain them. The male donkeys that want them do not become tired searching for them, because at mating time they find them [easily].
25 Usikimbie hadi miguu yako iwe haina viatu, na koo lako liwe limekauka. Lakini ulisema, ‘Haina maana! Ninaipenda miungu ya kigeni, nami lazima niifuatie.’
You constantly run here and there [to find idols to worship], with the result that your sandals are worn out, and your throats have become dry. [I told you to stop doing that], but you said, ‘We cannot stop, because we love foreign gods, and we must worship them.’”
26 “Kama vile mwizi aaibikavyo wakati amekamatwa, hivyo ndivyo nyumba ya Israeli inavyoaibishwa: wao wenyewe, wafalme wao na maafisa wao, makuhani wao na manabii wao.
[Yahweh says this]: “A robber is disgraced when he is caught. And all of you, including your kings and priests and prophets, are similarly disgraced.
27 Wanaiambia miti, ‘Wewe ndiwe baba yangu,’ nalo jiwe, ‘Wewe ndiwe uliyenizaa.’ Wamenipa visogo vyao wala hawakunigeuzia nyuso zao; lakini wakiwa katika taabu, wanasema, ‘Njoo utuokoe!’
You say to [a piece of] wood [that is carved to become a sacred idol], ‘You are our father!’ And you say to a stone [that you have set up], ‘You are our mother!’ You have rejected [IDM] me, but when you experience troubles, you cry out to me to rescue you.
28 Iko wapi basi ile miungu mliyojitengenezea? Yenyewe na ije kama inaweza kuwaokoa wakati mko katika taabu! Kwa maana mna miungu mingi kama mlivyo na miji, ee Yuda.
Why do you not [RHQ] cry out to the gods that you made? You have as many gods as you have cities [and towns] in Judah. So why do you not plead with them to rescue you when you experience disasters?
29 “Kwa nini mnaleta mashtaka dhidi yangu? Ninyi nyote mmeniasi,” asema Bwana.
You complain that it was wrong for me [not to have rescued you], but you have all rebelled against me.
30 “Nimeadhibu watu wako bure tu, hawakujirekebisha. Upanga wako umewala manabii wako kama simba mwenye njaa.
I punished some of you, but you did not learn anything from my doing that. You have killed many of the prophets that I [sent to you], like [SIM] fierce lions kill [other animals].
31 “Enyi wa kizazi hiki, tafakarini neno la Bwana: “Je, nimekuwa jangwa kwa Israeli au nchi ya giza kuu? Kwa nini watu wangu wanasema, ‘Sisi tuko huru kuzurura, hatutarudi kwako tena’?
You people of Israel, pay attention to what I say. I have certainly [RHQ] never [abandoned you] in a desert; I have never [left you] in a land full of darkness. So, why do you, my people, say ‘We are free from God’s control; we will not return to [worship] God any more’?
32 Je, mwanamwali husahau vito vyake, au bibi arusi mapambo yake ya arusi? Lakini watu wangu wamenisahau mimi, tena kwa siku zisizo na hesabu.
A young woman would certainly never [RHQ] forget [to wear] her jewelry, and a bride would never [RHQ] forget to wear her wedding dress, but you my people have forgotten me for many years.
33 Je, wewe una ustadi kiasi gani katika kufuatia mapenzi! Hata wale wanawake wabaya kuliko wote wanaweza kujifunza kutokana na njia zako.
You know how to easily find [gods from other countries] whom you can love. You can find them as easily as a prostitute [can find men to sleep with].
34 Katika nguo zako watu huona damu ya uhai ya maskini wasio na hatia, ingawa hukuwakamata wakivunja nyumba. Lakini katika haya yote
Although you have on your clothes the blood of poor people whom you have murdered, people who (were innocent/had not done things that are wrong),
35 unasema, ‘Sina hatia; Mungu hajanikasirikia.’ Lakini nitakuhukumu kwa sababu unasema, ‘Mimi sijatenda dhambi.’
you say ‘We have not done anything that is wrong; so surely [Yahweh] is not angry with us.’ But I will punish [MTY] you [severely] for saying ‘We have not sinned.’
36 Kwa nini unatangatanga sana, kubadili njia zako? Utakatishwa tamaa na Misri kama ulivyokatishwa na Ashuru.
Previously you requested [the army of] Assyria to help you, but they were not able to help you. Now you have requested [the army of] Egypt to help you, but they will not be able to help you, either.
37 Pia utaondoka mahali hapo ukiwa umeweka mikono kichwani, kwa kuwa Bwana amewakataa wale unaowatumainia; hutasaidiwa nao.
They will capture you, and you will be [their prisoners] [MTY], led to Egypt, [very ashamed] with your hands on your heads. That will happen because I, Yahweh, have rejected those [nations] that you are relying on, and they will not be able to help you at all.”
