< Mika 3 >

1 Kisha nikasema, “Sikilizeni enyi viongozi wa Yakobo, enyi watawala wa nyumba ya Israeli. Je, hampaswi kujua hukumu,
AND I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
2 ninyi mnaochukia mema na kupenda maovu; ninyi mnaowachuna watu wangu ngozi na kuondoa nyama kwenye mifupa yao;
Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
3 ninyi mnaokula nyama ya watu wangu, mnaowachuna ngozi na kuvunja mifupa yao vipande vipande; mnaowakatakata kama nyama ya kuwekwa kwenye sufuria na kama nyama ya kuwekwa kwenye chungu?”
Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
4 Kisha watamlilia Bwana, lakini hatawajibu. Wakati huo atawaficha uso wake kwa sababu ya uovu waliotenda.
Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
5 Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Kuhusu manabii wanaowapotosha watu wangu, mtu akiwalisha, wanatangaza ‘amani’; kama hakufanya hivyo, wanaandaa kupigana vita dhidi yake.
Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
6 Kwa hiyo usiku utawajieni, msiweze kuwa na maono, na giza, msiweze kubashiri. Jua litawachwea manabii hao, nao mchana utakuwa giza kwao.
Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
7 Waonaji wataaibika na waaguzi watafedheheka. Wote watafunika nyuso zao kwa sababu hakuna jibu litokalo kwa Mungu.”
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
8 Lakini kuhusu mimi, nimejazwa nguvu, nimejazwa Roho wa Bwana, haki na uweza, kumtangazia Yakobo kosa lake, na Israeli dhambi yake.
But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
9 Sikieni hili, enyi viongozi wa nyumba ya Yakobo, enyi watawala wa nyumba ya Israeli, mnaodharau haki na kupotosha kila lililo sawa;
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
10 mnaojenga Sayuni kwa kumwaga damu na Yerusalemu kwa uovu.
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 Viongozi wake wanahukumu kwa rushwa, na makuhani wake wanafundisha kwa malipo, nao manabii wake wanatabiri kwa fedha. Hata hivyo wanamwegemea Bwana na kusema, “Je, Bwana si yumo miongoni mwetu? Hakuna maafa yatakayotupata.”
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.
12 Kwa hiyo kwa sababu yenu, Sayuni italimwa kama shamba, Yerusalemu itakuwa lundo la kokoto, na kilima cha Hekalu kitakuwa kichuguu kilichofunikwa na vichaka.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

< Mika 3 >