Yeremia 24
1 Baada ya Yekonia mwana wa Yehoyakimu mfalme wa Yuda, pamoja na maafisa, mafundi stadi na wahunzi wa Yuda, kuchukuliwa kutoka Yerusalemu kwenda Babeli na Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli kwenda uhamishoni huko Babeli, Bwana akanionyesha vikapu viwili vya tini vilivyowekwa mbele ya Hekalu la Bwana.
The Lord revealed to me, and behold, two baskets full of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, carried away Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and his leaders, and the craftsmen and engravers of Jerusalem, and led them into Babylon.
2 Kikapu kimoja kilikuwa na tini nzuri sana, kama zile za mavuno ya kwanza. Kikapu cha pili kilikuwa na tini dhaifu sana, mbovu mno zisizofaa kuliwa.
One basket had exceedingly good figs, like the figs usually found early in the season, and the other basket had exceedingly bad figs, which could not be eaten because they were so bad.
3 Kisha Bwana akaniuliza, “Je, Yeremia, unaona nini?” Nikamjibu, “Ninaona tini zile zilizo nzuri ni nzuri sana, lakini zilizo dhaifu ni mbovu mno zisizofaa kuliwa.”
And the Lord said to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said: “Figs: the good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad and cannot be eaten because they are so bad.”
4 Kisha neno la Bwana likanijia:
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Hili ndilo Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli, asemalo: ‘Kama zilivyo hizi tini nzuri, ndivyo ninavyowaona kuwa bora watu wa uhamisho kutoka Yuda, niliowaondoa kutoka mahali hapa kwenda katika nchi ya Wakaldayo.
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Just like these good figs, so will I regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent from this place into the land of the Chaldeans.
6 Macho yangu yatakuwa juu yao kwa ajili ya kuwapatia mema, nami nitawarudisha tena katika nchi hii. Nitawajenga wala sitawabomoa, nitawapanda wala sitawangʼoa,
And I will set my eyes upon them, so as to be pleased. And I will lead them back into this land. And I will build them up, and I will not tear them down. And I will plant them, and I will not uproot them.
7 nitawapa moyo wa kunifahamu mimi, kwamba mimi ndimi Bwana. Watakuwa watu wangu, nami nitakuwa Mungu wao, kwa maana watanirudia kwa moyo wao wote.
And I will give them a heart, so that they may know me, that I am the Lord. And they will be my people, and I will be their God. For they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 “‘Lakini kama zilivyo zile tini dhaifu, ambazo ni mbovu mno zisizofaa kuliwa,’ asema Bwana, ‘ndivyo nitakavyomtendea Sedekia mfalme wa Yuda, maafisa wake na mabaki wengine kutoka Yerusalemu, wawe wamebaki katika nchi hii, au wanaishi Misri.
And just like the very bad figs, which cannot be eaten because they are so bad, thus says the Lord: so will I regard Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his leaders, and the rest of Jerusalem, those who have remained in this city, and those who are living in the land of Egypt.
9 Nitawafanya kuwa chukizo kabisa na kitu cha kulaumiwa katika mataifa yote ya dunia, watakuwa aibu na kitu cha kudharauliwa, chombo cha dhihaka na kulaaniwa, popote nitakapowafukuzia.
And I will give them over, with upheaval and affliction, to all the kingdoms of the earth: to be a disgrace, and a parable, and a proverb, and a curse in all the places to which I have cast them out.
10 Nitautuma upanga, njaa na tauni dhidi yao hadi wawe wameangamia kutoka nchi niliyowapa wao na baba zao.’”
And I will send among them the sword, and famine, and pestilence: until they have been worn away from the land, which I gave to them and to their fathers.”
