Sefania 2
1 Kusanyikeni pamoja, kusanyikeni pamoja, enyi taifa lisilo na aibu,
Assemble yourselves together, be gathered together, O nation not worthy to be loved:
2 kabla ya wakati ulioamriwa haujafika na siku ile inayopeperusha kama makapi, kabla hasira kali ya Bwana haijaja juu yenu, kabla siku ya ghadhabu ya Bwana haijaja juu yenu.
Before the decree bring forth the day as dust passing away, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s indignation come upon you.
3 Mtafuteni Bwana, enyi nyote wanyenyekevu wa nchi, ninyi ambao hufanya lile analoamuru. Tafuteni haki, tafuteni unyenyekevu; labda mtahifadhiwa siku ya hasira ya Bwana.
Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his judgment: seek the just, seek the meek: if by any means you may be hid in the day of the Lord’s indignation.
4 Gaza utaachwa na Ashkeloni utaachwa magofu. Wakati wa adhuhuri Ashdodi utaachwa mtupu na Ekroni utangʼolewa.
For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ascalon shall be a desert, they shall cast out Azotus at noonday, and Accaron shall be rooted up.
5 Ole wenu ninyi ambao mnaishi kando ya bahari, enyi Wakerethi; neno la Bwana liko dhidi yenu, ee Kanaani, nchi ya Wafilisti. “Mimi nitawaangamiza, na hakuna atakayebaki.”
Woe to you that inhabit the sea coast, O nation of reprobates: the word of the Lord upon you, O Chanaan, the land of the Philistines, and I will destroy thee, so that there shall not be an inhabitant.
6 Nchi kando ya bahari, mahali ambapo wanaishi Wakerethi, patakuwa mahali pa wachungaji na mazizi ya kondoo.
And the sea coast shall be the resting place of shepherds, and folds for cattle:
7 Itakuwa mali ya mabaki ya nyumba ya Yuda, hapo watapata malisho. Wakati wa jioni watajilaza chini katika nyumba za Ashkeloni. Bwana Mungu wao atawatunza, naye atawarudishia wafungwa wao.
And it shall be the portion of him that shall remain of the house of Juda, there they shall feed: in the houses of Ascalon they shall rest in the evening: because the Lord their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
8 “Nimeyasikia matukano ya Moabu nazo dhihaka za Waamoni, ambao waliwatukana watu wangu na kutoa vitisho dhidi ya nchi yao.
I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the blasphemies of the children of Ammon, with which they reproached my people, and have magnified themselves upon their borders.
9 Hakika, kama niishivyo,” asema Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, Mungu wa Israeli, “hakika Moabu itakuwa kama Sodoma, Waamoni kama Gomora: mahali pa magugu na mashimo ya chumvi, nchi ya ukiwa milele. Mabaki ya watu wangu watawateka nyara; mabaki ya taifa langu watarithi nchi yao.”
Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha, the dryness of thorns, and heaps of salt, and a desert even for ever: the remnant of my people shall make a spoil of them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them.
10 Hiki ndicho watarudishiwa kwa ajili ya kiburi chao, kwa kutukana na kudhihaki watu wa Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote.
This shall befall them for their pride: because they have blasphemed, and have been magnified against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 Bwana atakuwa wa kuhofisha kwao atakapoangamiza miungu yote ya nchi. Mataifa katika kila pwani yatamwabudu, kila moja katika nchi yake.
The Lord shall be terrible upon them, and shall consume all the gods of the earth: and they shall adore him every man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles.
12 “Ninyi pia, ee Wakushi, mtauawa kwa upanga wangu.”
You Ethiopians, also shall be slain with my sword.
13 Mungu atanyoosha mkono wake dhidi ya kaskazini na kuangamiza Waashuru, akiiacha Ninawi ukiwa na pakame kama jangwa.
And he will stretch out his hand upon the north, and will destroy Assyria: and he will make the beautiful city a wilderness, and as a place not passable, and as a desert.
14 Makundi ya kondoo na ngʼombe yatajilaza pale, viumbe vya kila aina. Bundi wa jangwani na bundi waliao kwa sauti nyembamba wataishi juu ya nguzo zake. Mwangwi wa kuita kwao utapita madirishani, kifusi kitakuwa milangoni, boriti za mierezi zitaachwa wazi.
And flocks shall lie down in the midst thereof, all the beasts of the nations: and the bittern and the urchin shall lodge in the threshold thereof: the voice of the singing bird in the window, the raven on the upper post, for I will consume her strength.
15 Huu ndio mji uliotukuka na kuishi kwa furaha wakijisikia salama. Ulisema moyoni mwako, “Mimi ndimi, na wala hapana mwingine ila mimi.” Jinsi gani umekuwa gofu, mahali pa kulala wanyama pori! Wote wanaopita kando yake wanauzomea na kutikisa mkono kwa dharau.
This is the glorious city that dwelt in security: that said in her heart: I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desert, a place for beasts to lie down in? every one that passeth by her, shall hiss, and wag his hand.
