< Yeremia 22 >
1 Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Shuka kwenye jumba la kifalme la mfalme wa Yuda, utangaze ujumbe huu huko:
Thus saith Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 ‘Sikia neno la Bwana, ee mfalme wa Yuda, wewe uketiye kwenye kiti cha enzi cha Daudi: wewe, maafisa wako na watu wako mnaopitia malango haya.
and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people who enter in through these gates.
3 Hili ndilo Bwana asemalo: Tenda haki na adili. Mwokoe mkononi mwa mdhalimu yeye aliyetekwa nyara. Usimtendee mabaya wala ukatili mgeni, yatima au mjane, wala usimwage damu isiyo na hatia mahali hapa.
Thus saith Jehovah: Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place.
4 Kwa kuwa ukiwa mwangalifu kushika maagizo haya, ndipo wafalme watakaokalia kiti cha enzi cha Daudi watakapoingia kupitia malango ya jumba hili la kifalme, wakiwa wamepanda magari na farasi, huku wakifuatana na maafisa wao na watu wao.
For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in through the gates of this house kings sitting in the place of David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, — he, and his servants, and his people.
5 Lakini kama hutayatii maagizo haya, asema Bwana, ninaapa kwa nafsi yangu kwamba jumba hili litakuwa gofu.’”
But if ye will not hear these words, I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a waste.
6 Kwa kuwa hili ndilo Bwana asemalo kuhusu jumba la kifalme la mfalme wa Yuda: “Ingawa uko kama Gileadi kwangu, kama kilele cha Lebanoni, hakika nitakufanya uwe kama jangwa, kama miji ambayo haijakaliwa na watu.
For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art a Gilead unto me, the summit of Lebanon: verily I will make thee a wilderness, cities not inhabited.
7 Nitawatuma waharabu dhidi yako, kila mtu akiwa na silaha zake, nao watazikata boriti zako nzuri za mierezi na kuzitupa motoni.
And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.
8 “Watu kutoka mataifa mengi watapitia karibu na mji huu na kuulizana, ‘Kwa nini Bwana amefanya jambo la namna hii juu ya mji huu mkubwa?’
And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city?
9 Nalo jibu litakuwa: ‘Kwa sababu wameliacha agano la Bwana, Mungu wao, na wameabudu na kuitumikia miungu mingine.’”
And they shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 Usimlilie yeye aliyekufa, wala usimwombolezee; badala yake, afadhali umlilie kwa uchungu yule aliyepelekwa uhamishoni, kwa sababu kamwe hatairudia wala kuiona tena nchi yake alikozaliwa.
Weep not for the dead, neither bemoan him; [but] weep sore for him that goeth away, for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 Kwa kuwa hili ndilo asemalo Bwana kuhusu Shalumu mwana wa Yosia, aliyeingia mahali pa baba yake kuwa mfalme wa Yuda, lakini ameondoka mahali hapa: “Yeye kamwe hatarudi tena.
For thus saith Jehovah concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth out of this place: He shall not return thither any more;
12 Atafia huko mahali walipompeleka kuwa mateka; hataiona tena nchi hii.”
for he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 “Ole wake yeye ajengaye jumba lake la kifalme kwa njia ya dhuluma, vyumba vyake vya juu kwa udhalimu, akiwatumikisha watu wa nchi yake pasipo malipo, bila kuwalipa kwa utumishi wao.
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his upper chambers by injustice; that taketh his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not his earning;
14 Asema, ‘Nitajijengea jumba kuu la kifalme, na vyumba vya juu vyenye nafasi kubwa.’ Hivyo anaweka ndani yake madirisha makubwa, huweka kuta za mbao za mierezi, na kuipamba kwa rangi nyekundu.
that saith, I will build me a wide house, and spacious upper chambers; and he cutteth out for himself windows; and it is wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
15 “Je, inakufanya kuwa mfalme huko kuongeza idadi ya mierezi? Je, baba yako hakuwa na chakula na kinywaji? Alifanya yaliyo sawa na haki, hivyo yeye akafanikiwa katika yote.
Shalt thou reign, because thou viest with the cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? Then it was well with him.
16 Aliwatetea maskini na wahitaji, hivyo yeye akafanikiwa katika yote. Je, hiyo si ndiyo maana ya kunijua mimi?” asema Bwana.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah.
17 “Lakini macho yako na moyo wako vimeelekezwa tu katika mapato ya udhalimu, kwa kumwaga damu isiyo na hatia, kwa uonevu na ukatili.”
But thine eyes and thy heart are only on thine extortion, and on the blood of the innocent, to shed it, and on oppression and on violence, to do it.
18 Kwa hiyo hili ndilo asemalo Bwana kuhusu Yehoyakimu mwana wa Yosia mfalme wa Yuda: “Hawatamwombolezea wakisema: ‘Ole, ndugu yangu! Ole, umbu langu!’ Hawatamwombolezea wakisema: ‘Ole, bwana wangu! Ole, fahari yake!’
Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister! They shall not lament for him, Ah, lord! or Ah, his glory!
19 Atazikwa maziko ya punda: ataburutwa na kutupwa nje ya malango ya Yerusalemu.”
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, dragged along and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Panda Lebanoni ukapige kelele, sauti yako na isikike huko Bashani, piga kelele toka Abarimu, kwa kuwa wote waliojiunga nawe wameangamizwa.
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and give forth thy voice in Bashan, and cry from [the heights of] Abarim: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 Nilikuonya wakati ulipojisikia kwamba uko salama, lakini ulisema, ‘Mimi sitasikiliza!’ Hii imekuwa kawaida yako tangu ujana wako; hujanitii mimi.
I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity; [but] thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy way from thy youth, that thou hearkenedst not unto my voice.
22 Upepo utawaondoa wachungaji wako wote, na wale ulioungana nao wataenda uhamishoni. Kisha utaaibika na kufedheheka kwa sababu ya uovu wako wote.
The wind shall feed on all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity; surely, then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
23 Wewe uishiye Lebanoni, wewe uliyetulia kwenye majengo ya mierezi, tazama jinsi utakavyoomboleza maumivu makali yatakapokupata, maumivu kama yale ya mwanamke mwenye utungu wa kuzaa!
Thou inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how pitiful shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, pain as of a woman in travail!
24 “Hakika kama niishivyo,” asema Bwana, “hata kama wewe, Yekonia mwana wa Yehoyakimu mfalme wa Yuda, ungekuwa pete yangu ya muhuri katika mkono wangu wa kuume, bado ningekungʼoa hapo.
[As] I live, saith Jehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet upon my right hand, yet will I pluck thee thence;
25 Nitakutia mikononi mwa wale wanaotafuta uhai wako, wale unaowaogopa, yaani Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli na kwa Wakaldayo.
and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them before whom thou art afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 Nitakutupa mbali wewe na mama aliyekuzaa mwende katika nchi nyingine, ambayo hakuna hata mmoja wenu aliyezaliwa huko, nanyi mtafia huko.
And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 Kamwe hamtarudi katika nchi mliyotamani kuirudia.”
And into the land whereunto they lift up their souls to return, thither shall they not return.
28 Je, huyu mtu Yekonia ni chungu kilichodharauliwa, chungu kilichovunjika, chombo kisichotakiwa na mtu yeyote? Kwa nini yeye na watoto wake watupwe nje kwa nguvu, na kutupwa kwenye nchi wasioijua?
Is this man Coniah a despised broken vase? a vessel wherein is no delight? Wherefore are they thrown out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29 Ee nchi, nchi, nchi, sikia neno la Bwana!
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah!
30 Hili ndilo Bwana asemalo: “Mwandike huyu mtu kama asiye na mtoto, mtu ambaye hatafanikiwa maisha yake yote, kwa maana hakuna mtoto wake atakayefanikiwa, wala kukaa kwenye kiti cha enzi cha Daudi wala kuendelea kutawala katika Yuda.”
Thus saith Jehovah: Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.