< Zekaria 5 >

1 Nikatazama tena: na hapo mbele yangu kulikuwa na kitabu kilichoruka!
And once more lifted I mine eyes, and looked, —and lo! a Flying Volume.
2 Akaniuliza, “Unaona nini?” Nikamjibu, “Naona kitabu kinachoruka chenye, urefu wa dhiraa ishirini na upana wa dhiraa kumi.”
And he said unto me, What canst thou see? So I said, I, can see a flying volume, the length thereof, twenty by the cubit, and, the breadth thereof, ten by the cubit.
3 Akaniambia, “Hii ni laana inayotoka kwenda juu ya nchi yote, kwa kuwa kufuatana na yale yaliyoandikwa katika upande mmoja, kila mwizi atafukuziwa mbali, pia kufuatana na yaliyo upande wa pili, kila aapaye kwa uongo atafukuziwa mbali.
Then said he unto me, This, is the curse, which is going forth over the face of all the earth, —Because, every one who stealeth, on the one side, hath in one way been let off, and, every one who sweareth, on the other side, hath in another way been let off,
4 Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote asema, ‘Nitaituma hiyo laana, nayo itaingia katika nyumba ya mwizi na nyumba ya huyo aapaye kwa uongo kwa Jina langu. Itabaki katika nyumba yake na kuiharibu, pamoja na mbao zake na mawe yake.’”
[therefore] have I brought it forth, Declareth Yahweh of hosts, And it shall enter—into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth by my name, falsely, —and it shall roost in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, both the timbers thereof, and the stones thereof.
5 Kisha yule malaika aliyekuwa akizungumza nami akanijia na kuniambia, “Tazama juu uone ni nini kile kinachojitokeza.”
Then came forward, the messenger who was talking with me, —and said unto me—Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and see what this is which is coming forth.
6 Nikamuuliza, “Ni kitu gani?” Akanijibu, “Ni kikapu cha kupimia.” Kisha akaongeza kusema, “Huu ni uovu wa watu katika nchi nzima.”
And I said, What is it? Then said he, This, is an ephah that is coming forth. And he said, This, is their iniquity, throughout all the land.
7 Kisha kifuniko kilichotengenezwa kwa madini ya risasi kilichokuwa kimefunika kile kikapu, kiliinuliwa na ndani ya kile kikapu alikuwako mwanamke ameketi!
And lo! a leaden disc uplifted, —and here a certain woman, sitting inside the ephah.
8 Akasema, “Huu ni uovu,” tena akamsukumia ndani ya kikapu na kushindilia kifuniko juu ya mdomo wa kikapu.
Then said he, This, is Lawlessness. So he thrust her back inside the ephah, —and then thrust the leaden weight into the mouth thereof.
9 Kisha nikatazama juu: na pale mbele yangu, walikuwepo wanawake wawili, wakiwa na upepo katika mabawa yao! Walikuwa na mabawa kama ya korongo, nao wakainua kile kikapu na kuruka nacho kati ya mbingu na nchi.
Then lifted I up mine eyes and looked, and lo! Two Women coming forward, with the wind in their wings, and, they, had wings, like the wings of the stork, —and bare up the ephah, between the earth and the heavens.
10 Nikamuuliza yule malaika aliyekuwa akizungumza nami, “Wanakipeleka wapi hicho kikapu?”
Then said I unto the messenger who was speaking with me, —Whither are they carrying the ephah?
11 Akanijibu, “Wanakipeleka katika nchi ya Babeli na kujenga nyumba kwa ajili yake. Itakapokuwa tayari, kikapu kitawekwa pale mahali pake.”
And he said unto me, To build for it a house in the land of Shinar, —so shall it be ready, and they shall settle it there, upon its own base?

< Zekaria 5 >