Yeremia 27
1 Mwanzoni mwa utawala wa Yehoyakimu mwana wa Yosia mfalme wa Yuda, neno hili lilimjia Yeremia kutoka kwa Bwana:
THE WORD OF THE LORD WHICH HE SPOKE AGAINST BABYLON.
2 Hili ndilo Bwana aliloniambia: “Tengeneza nira, ujivike shingoni mwako, uifunge kwa kamba za ngozi.
Proclaim ye among the Gentiles, and cause the tidings to be heard, and suppress [them] not: say ye, Babylon is taken, Belus is confounded; the fearless, the luxurious Maerodach is delivered up.
3 Kisha utume ujumbe kwa wafalme wa Edomu, Moabu, Amoni, Tiro na Sidoni kupitia wajumbe ambao wamekuja Yerusalemu kwa Sedekia mfalme wa Yuda.
For a nation has come up against her from the north, he shall utterly ravage her land, and there shall be none to dwell in it, neither man nor beast.
4 Wape ujumbe kwa ajili ya mabwana zao na uwaambie: Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, Mungu wa Israeli: ‘Waambieni hivi mabwana zenu:
In those days, and at that time, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Juda together; they shall proceed, weeping as they go, seeking the Lord their God.
5 Kwa uwezo wangu mkuu na kwa mkono wangu ulionyooshwa nimeumba dunia na watu wake na wanyama walioko ndani yake, nami humpa yeyote inipendezavyo.
They shall ask the way till [they come to] Sion, for that way shall they set their face; and they shall come and flee for refuge to the Lord their God; for the everlasting covenant shall not be forgotten.
6 Sasa nitazitia nchi zenu zote mkononi mwa mtumishi wangu Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli, na nitawafanya hata wanyama wa mwituni wamtumikie.
My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds thrust them out, they caused them to wander on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place.
7 Mataifa yote yatamtumikia yeye, pamoja na mwanawe na mwana wa mwanawe, hadi wakati wa nchi yake utakapowadia, kisha mataifa mengi na wafalme wenye nguvu nyingi watamshinda.
All that found them consumed them: their enemies said, Let us not leave them alone, because they have sinned against the Lord: he that gathered their fathers [had] a pasture of righteousness.
8 “‘“Lakini kama kukiwa na taifa lolote au ufalme ambao hautamtumikia Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli, ama kuinamisha shingo yake chini ya nira yake, nitaliadhibu taifa hilo kwa upanga, njaa na tauni, asema Bwana, mpaka nitakapoliangamiza taifa hilo kwa mkono wake.
Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and from the land of the Chaldeans, and go forth, and be as serpents before sleep.
9 Kwa hiyo msiwasikilize manabii wenu, waaguzi wenu, waota ndoto wenu, watabiri na wachawi wanaowaambia ninyi: Hamtamtumikia mfalme wa Babeli.
For, behold, I stir up against Babylon the gatherings of nations out of the land of the north; and they shall set themselves in array against her: thence shall she be taken, as the dart of an expert warrior shall not return empty.
10 Wanawatabiria uongo ambao utawafanya ninyi mhamishwe mbali kutoka nchi yenu. Nitawafukuzia mbali, nanyi mtaangamia.
And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied.
11 Lakini ikiwa taifa lolote litainama na kuweka shingo lake katika nira ya mfalme wa Babeli na kumtumikia, nitaliacha taifa hilo katika nchi yake yenyewe ili wailime na kuishi humo, asema Bwana.”’”
Because ye rejoiced, and boasted, [while] plundering mine heritage; because ye exulted as calves in the grass, and pushed with the horn as bulls.
12 Nilitoa ujumbe huo huo kwa Sedekia mfalme wa Yuda. Nilisema, “Ingiza shingo yako katika nira ya mfalme wa Babeli, umtumikie yeye na watu wake, nawe utaishi.
Your mother is greatly ashamed; your mother that bore you for prosperity is confounded: [she is] the last of the nations, desolate,
13 Kwa nini wewe na watu wako mfe kwa upanga, njaa na tauni, ambazo Bwana ameonya juu ya taifa lolote ambalo halitamtumikia mfalme wa Babeli?
by reason of the Lord's anger: it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be all a desolation; and every one that passes through Babylon shall scowl, and they shall hiss at all her plague.
14 Msiyasikilize maneno ya manabii wanaowaambia kwamba, ‘Hamtamtumikia mfalme wa Babeli,’ kwa sababu wanawatabiria uongo.
Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare not your arrows,
15 ‘Sikuwatuma hao,’ asema Bwana. ‘Wanatabiri uongo kwa jina langu. Kwa hiyo, nitawafukuzia mbali, nanyi mtaangamia, ninyi pamoja na manabii wanaowatabiria.’”
and prevail against her: her hands are weakened, her bulwarks are fallen, and her wall is broken down: for it is vengeance from God: take vengeance upon her; as she has done, do to her.
16 Kisha nikawaambia makuhani na watu hawa wote, “Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: Msiwasikilize manabii wanaosema, ‘Hivi karibuni sana vyombo vya nyumba ya Bwana vitarudishwa kutoka Babeli.’ Wanawatabiria ninyi uongo.
Utterly destroy seed out of Babylon, [and] him that holds a sickle in time of harvest: for fear of the Grecian sword, they shall return every one to his people, and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 Msiwasikilize. Mtumikieni mfalme wa Babeli, nanyi mtaishi. Kwa nini mji huu uwe magofu?
Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have driven him out: the king of Assyria first devoured him, and afterward this king of Babylon [has gnawed] his bones.
18 Kama wao ni manabii na wanalo neno la Bwana, basi na wamsihi Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ili vyombo vilivyobaki katika nyumba ya Bwana na katika jumba la kifalme la mfalme wa Yuda na katika Yerusalemu visipelekwe Babeli.
Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I [will] take vengeance on the king of Babylon, and upon his land, as I took vengeance on the king of Assyria.
19 Kwa maana hili ndilo asemalo Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote kuhusu zile nguzo, ile Bahari, vile vishikizo viwezavyo kuhamishika, vinara na vyombo vingine vilivyoachwa katika mji huu,
And I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and on mount Ephraim and in Galaad, and his soul shall be satisfied.
20 ambavyo Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli hakuvichukua wakati alipomchukua Yekonia mwana wa Yehoyakimu mfalme wa Yuda kwenda uhamishoni huko Babeli kutoka Yerusalemu, pamoja na wakuu wote wa Yuda na Yerusalemu.
In those days, and at that time, they shall seek for the iniquity of Israel, and there shall be none; and for the sins of Juda, and they shall not be found: for I will be merciful to them that are left
21 Naam, hili ndilo Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, Mungu wa Israeli, asemalo kuhusu vitu ambavyo vimebaki ndani ya nyumba ya Bwana, na ndani ya jumba la kifalme la mfalme wa Yuda, na katika Yerusalemu:
on the land, saith the Lord. Go up against it roughly, and against them that dwell on it: avenge, O sword, and destroy utterly, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I command thee.
22 ‘Vitachukuliwa kupelekwa Babeli, nako huko vitabaki mpaka siku nitakayovijilia,’ asema Bwana. ‘Kisha nitavirudisha na kuvirejesha mahali hapa.’”
A sound of war, and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans!
How is the hammer of the whole earth broken and crushed! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
They shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know it, Babylon, that thou wilt even be taken captive: thou art found and taken, because thou didst resist the Lord.
The Lord has opened his treasury, and brought forth the weapons of his anger: for the Lord God [has] a work in the land of the Chaldeans.
For her times are come: open ye her storehouses: search her as a cave, and utterly destroy her: let there be no remnant of her.
Dry ye up all her fruits, and let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, and the time of their retribution.
A voice of men fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon, to declare to Sion the vengeance [that comes] from the Lord our God.
Summon many against Babylon, [even] every one that bends the bow: camp against her round about; let no one of her [people] escape: render to her according to her works; according to all that she has done, do to her: for she has resisted the Lord, the Holy God of Israel.
Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her warriors shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
Behold, I am against thee the haughty one, saith the Lord: for thy day is come, and the time of thy retribution.
And thy pride shall fail, and fall, and there shall be no one to set it up again: and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all things round about her.
Thus saith the Lord; The children of Israel and the children of Juda have been oppressed: all they that have taken them captive have oppressed them together; for they would not let them go.
But their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name: he will enter into judgment with his adversaries, that he may destroy the earth;
and he will sharpen a sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her nobles and upon her wise men;
a sword upon her warriors, and they shall be weakened: a sword upon their horses, and upon their chariots:
a sword upon their warriors and upon the mixed people in the midst of her; and they shall be as women: a sword upon the treasures, and they shall be scattered upon her water,
and they shall be ashamed: for it is a land of graven [images]; and in the islands, where they boasted.
Therefore shall idols dwell in the islands, and the young of monsters shall dwell in it: it shall not be inhabited any more for ever.
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities bordering upon them, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn there.
Behold, a people comes from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the end of the earth; holding bow and dagger:
[the people] is fierce, and will have no mercy: their voices shall sound as the sea, they shall ride upon horses, prepared for war, like fire, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
The king of Babylon heard the sound of them, and his hands were enfeebled: anguish overcame him, pangs as of a woman in travail.
Behold, he shall come up as a lion from Jordan to Gaethan; for I will speedily drive them from her, and I will set all the youths against her: for who is like me? and who will resist me? and who is this shepherd who will stand before me?
Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has taken against Babylon; and his devices, which he has devised upon the Chaldeans inhabiting [it]: surely lambs of their flock shall be destroyed: surely pasture shall be cut off from them.
For at the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth shall quake, and a cry shall be heard among the nations.
